'Human beings are animals because as homo sapiens we all evolved thousands of years ago.' Which informal fallacy is committed in the above argument?
AFallacy of composition and division ✓ Correct
BFallacy of accident
CFalse cause
DRed herring
Correct answer: (A) Fallacy of composition and division
Explanation
The argument attributes having evolved thousands of years ago to us all, which is the fallacy of composition and division.
Evolution is a property of the species as a whole, achieved over vast populations and time.
Ascribing that collective, whole-of-species property to each of us individually confuses whole and part.
What holds of the group as such need not hold of its members taken singly.
This illicit transfer between whole and parts is the fallacy of composition and division.
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