====== Syntactic ambiguity ======

An [[ambiguity:index|ambiguous]] wording in a statement that can lead to misconceptions (and subsequently to false conclusions).

For example, consider the following [[glossary:syllogism|syllogism]]<span noprint> [[app>#barbara|Open this example in Syllogism Finder app]]</span>:

> <u questionable "Syntactic ambiguity">Cars pollute the air.</u>
> All electric cars are //cars//.
> <s invalid conclusio>From this follows: Electric cars pollute the air.</s>

Although each premise appears to be //true// and on first glance, this appears to be a formally correct [[logic:inferences:modus_barbara:index|Modus Barbara]]<span noprint> [[app>#barbara|Show in Syllogism-Finder App]]</span>, the conclusion is obviously //false//. The problem lies in the ambiguous wording of the major (first) premise. More information about this in the description below.

===== Other names =====

  * Fallacy of [[glossary:equivocation:amphiboly|amphiboly]]
  * Structural ambiguity

===== Description =====

If a statement is formulated in a way that it can be interpreted in multiple ways, this can lead to mis­con­cept­ions about the validity of the statement.

In the example above, the major clause is an [[glossary:equivocation:amphibole|amphibole]] of the form of a [[ambiguity:syntactic:generic_generalization|generic generalization]], which can be inter­preted both //distributively// (i.e. as a [[glossary:universal_quantification|universal statement]], in the sense of "//all// cars pollute the air"), as well as //collectively// (i.e. as an [[glossary:existential_quantification|existential statement]], as if stated in the form: "//some// cars pollute the air").

If we assume the latter ("//some// cars pollute the air"), the premise would clearly be true, but the syl­log­ism is then invalid, as the middle term is not distributed from an existential statement (<span conclusio>[[logic:formal_fallacies:fallacies_of_distribution:undistributed_middle|un­dis­tri­buted middle term]]</span>). In the former case ("//all// cars pollute the air"), the form is correct, but the premise is then clearly false - since "all cars" would also include electric cars, which at least do not directly emit pollu­tants - and from a false premise we can’t get a true conclusion.

<aside box>

**Note:** The above example can also be interpreted in other ways, in particular:

  * The word "car" refers to different [[glossary:extension|extensions]] in the major and in the minor premises. This leads to a [[logic:formal_fallacies:four-term_fallacy:index|four-term fallacy]], or more specifically, the fallacy of the <span conclusio>[[logic:formal_fallacies:four-term_fallacy:ambiguous_middle|ambiguous middle term]]</span>.
  * A property of a subgroup (//electric// cars) has been illicitly inferred from a //collective// property of a more general group (//cars//). In this particular situation, this can be interpreted as an example of the <span conclusio>[[logic:emergence:division|fallacy of division]]</span>.
  * A //general rule// is applied, even though the conclusion specifically refers to a subgroup for which an exception to the rule is warranted <span conclusio>[[generalization:accident_fallacy|accident fallacy]]</span>.

All of these interpretations are valid, and the example above could just as well be listed as an example in any of the linked other articles. 
</aside>

==== Distinction ====

This fallacy is also known as the "fallacy of amphiboly". An [[rhetoric:glossary:equivokation:amphiboly|amphiboly]] is an ambiguity in the grammatical structure, which in this case leads to a //fallacy of ambiguity//.

Although //amphibolies// are also forms of [[rhetoric:glossary:equivokation:index|equivocations]], the latter term is broader and includes, above all, [[wp>Polysemy|polysemies]], i.e. words and expressions that have multiple extensions. The fallacies that result from such equivocations are described under “[[logic:formal_fallacies:four-term_fallacy:index|Four-Term Fallacy]]” and in related articles.

===== See also =====

  * [[glossary:equivocation:index|Equivokation]]
    * [[glossary:equivocation:amphiboly|Amphiboly]]
  * [[ambiguity:syntactic:generic_generalization|Generic generalization]]

===== More information =====

  * [[wp>Syntactic ambiguity]] on //Wikipedia//