Which fallacy is committed in the following statement- "Thomas Carlyl said of Walt Whitman that he was a big poet because he came from a big country" ?

The fallacy committed in the given statement is Fallacy of Division

Important Points

The fallacy of division occurs when someone wrongly assumes that what is true of a whole must also be true of its individual parts. In this case, the statement claims that Thomas Carlyle said Walt Whitman was a big poet because he came from a big country. The fallacy occurs when the size or greatness of the country (the whole) is attributed to Walt Whitman (the part) as a reason for him being a big poet.

This reasoning is flawed because being from a big country does not necessarily make someone a great poet. The greatness of a poet is determined by their individual talent, creativity, and literary contributions, not by the size or greatness of their country of origin.

Therefore, the fallacy of division is committed in the statement, as it incorrectly attributes a characteristic of the whole (the country) to the individual part (Walt Whitman).

Therefore, the fallacy committed in this statement is the fallacy of Division.

Additional Information

Ad Hominem:

• Ad Hominem fallacy is committed when someone attacks the person making an argument rather than addressing the argument itself.
• It involves diverting attention from the actual issue by attacking the character, traits, or circumstances of the person presenting the argument.

Hasty Generalization:

This fallacy involves drawing a broad conclusion based on insufficient evidence or limited sample size. It occurs when someone makes a generalization about a whole group or category based on a small or unrepresentative sample.