Denying the Antecedent

The consequent in an indicative conditional is claimed to be false because the antecedent is false. if A, then B; not A, therefore not B.

Example

- If we can match his DNA to the murder weapon, he must be guilty

- We could not match his DNA so he must not be guilty.

Famous Examples

If there is no God, then man and the universe are doomed. Like prisoners condemned to death, we await our unavoidable execution. There is no God, and there is no immortality. And what is the consequence of this? It means that life itself is absurd. It means that the life we have is without ultimate significance, value, or purpose.

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