User:JalilDixon93/Enthymeme

Syllogism based on signs[edit]
In the Rhetoric, Aristotle argues that some enthymemes are derived from syllogisms that are based on signs (semeia) instead of absolute facts. In this context, signs are "things [that] are so closely related that the presence or absence of one indicates the presence or absence of the other." Examples are given below.


 * "He is ill, since he has a cough."
 * "Since she has a child, she has given birth."
 * "He is yawning; therefore, he is sleepy."

In the examples, 'having a cough', 'having a child', and 'yawning' are signs of illness, giving birth, and sleepiness respectively. In those cases, the enthymeme is only probably true because there are other sources of coughs, children besides pathogens and parturition, and reasons for yawning respectively, such as allergies, adoption, fatigue from exercising.

Syllogism where the audience supplies a premise[edit]
The third kind of enthymeme consists of a syllogism with a missing premise that is supplied by the audience as an unstated assumption. In the words of rhetorician William Benoit, the missing premise is: "assumed by rhetor when inventing and by audience when understanding the argument."

An example of this kind of enthymeme is as follows:


 * "Candide is a typical French novel; therefore, it is vulgar."
 * "Many customers go to Starbucks; therefore, these customers enjoy coffee."

In the first case, the missing term of the syllogism is "French novels are vulgar" and might be an assumption held by an audience that would make sense of the enthymematic argument. In the second case, the missing term of the syllogism is "Starbucks customers all order coffee" and this might be another assumption held by audiences to make sense of that particular argument. Such unstated premises can also rise to the level of axioms (statements so commonly accepted as to be thought universally true) and logical fallacies.