Identify the formal fallacy committed in the argument: 'All communists are revolutionists. All anarchists are revolutionists. Therefore all anarchists are revolutionists.'

AThe fallacy of the undistributed middle ✓ Correct

BThe existential fallacy

CIllicit major

DIllicit minor

Correct answer: (A) The fallacy of the undistributed middle

Explanation

The middle term 'revolutionists' is undistributed in both premises.

Each premise is a universal affirmative with 'revolutionists' as its predicate.

A term as the predicate of an affirmative proposition is undistributed.

Since the middle is never distributed, it cannot link the other two terms.

A valid syllogism requires the middle to be distributed at least once, so this is the undistributed middle.

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