Syllogisms

1. A Valid Syllogism:
-Major Premise: All Purdue students are college students.
-Minor Premise: Natalie is a Purdue student.
-Conclusion: Natalie is a college student.

2. An Invalid Syllogism:
-Major Premise: Some hockey players are from Canada.
-Minor Premise: John is a hockey player.
-Conclusion: John is from Canada.

2. A Syllogism Embedded in an Argument:
There are some fruits that are poisonous.  An orange is a fruit, so you will get sick if you eat an orange.

Implied:
-Major Premise: Some fruits are poisonous.
-Minor Premise: An orange is a fruit.
-Conclusion: Oranges are poisonous.

This is an invalid syllogism because only some fruits are poisonous. We cannot conclude that oranges are poisonous, we can only conclude that they are fruits.