"All rectangles have four sides. All squares have four sides. Therefore all rectangles are squares." This incorrect statement is an example of

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The statement is a categorical syllogism, which has a logical form of "All A are B. All C are A. Therefore, all C are B." However, the statement is logically false, as not all rectangles are squares. Therefore, the argument is an example of a logical fallacy known as the "fallacy of the undistributed middle," where the middle term (in this case "four sides") is not distributed across all subjects.

"All Rectangles Have Four Sides