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THE FALLACIES OE INFERENCE
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'the too wide,' avyāpti or 'the too narrow' and asambhava or the false' also come under the fallacies of the middle term. 1
2. The fallacy of savyabhıcāra or the irregular middle
The first kind of inferential fallacy is called the suvyabhıcāra. In it the hetu or the middle term is found to lead to no one single conclusion, but to different opposite conclusions. This fallacy arises when the middle term violates its second condition, namely, that it must be distributively related to the major term. This condition requires that the middle term must be pervaded by the major term, or that the major must be present in all the cases in which the middle is present The savyabhicāra hetu, however, is not uniformly concomitant with the major term It is related to both the existence and the nonexistence of the major term. It is therefore called anarkāntıku or an irregular concomitant of the sādhya or the major terin. Hence from such a middle term we can infer both the existence and the non-existence of the major term.? Of such savyubhıcāra or irregular middle there are three kınds. namely, the sādhārana, asādhārana and anupasamhārī, The sūdhurana or the ordinary fallacy of the irregular middle occurs when the middle term is in some cases related to tbe major and in other cases related to the absence of the major. 8 This is illustrated in the following syllogism.
All knowable objects are fiery ; The hill is knowable; Therefore the hill is fiery.
1 Vide TB, 37. 3 Anaikāntikah savyabbicārab, NS, 1.2.5. 3 Sadbüranah sādhyayat tadanya vrttıb, etc, NSV., 1.2.5.
