Logical Fallacy of Ambiguous Collective / Type-Token Ambiguity
Logical Fallacy of Ambiguous Collective / Type-Token Ambiguity
The Logical Fallacy of Ambiguous Collective / Type-Token Ambiguity occurs when a collective term ("you,” "we,” “everyone,” "the people") is used without defining exactly who or what is included in the term.
Examples of the Logical Fallacy of Ambiguous Collective / Type-Token Ambiguity
Bill Nye, arguing against Creation Science:“This is what geologists on the outside do, study the rate at which soil is deposited at the end of rivers and deltas, and we can see that it takes a long, long time for sediments to turn to stone.”
Who specifically can see this? Bill can’t be referring to the geologists, since he is not a geologist. Bill seems to be implying that he and the entire audience do this, but they don't. Who does this? This is an especially important question since stone can form very quickly.
