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2.7 Using the Rabbit Rule

The Rabbit Rule helps us identify co-premises by telling us some of the key terms or concepts which should appear in them.

 

In this example there are two terms or concepts which currently violate the Rabbit Rule.  Since they don't appear in the first premise, they will have to appear in some additional co-premise(s).


Using a little creative thinking, we come up with something which uses the key terms and concepts and seems to be the right kind of claim for the job.
 
Discussion

The Rabbit Rule gives us strong clues as to what the missing co-premise should be, but it doesn't mechanically determine the outcome.  We still have to think hard about it to come up with a proper sentence which uses one or more of the terms or concepts from the conclusion, and also makes sense in the context of the argument. 

When adding co-premises, you do need to be careful what you add.  A poor choice of co-premise will create as many problems as it solves, for as we will soon see, any terms or concepts in the premises also have to be properly tied in to the rest of the argument. 

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