I know there is a word for this--I remember seeing it years back. It may is a logic-based word. LN? Eve? Jose? Anyone?

Here's the situation. If a large group of people "A" contains a small percentage "B" that present a dramatic stereotype behavior "C", it is wrong to say that all A's do C. We know this. Yet, it is not wrong to say that people who do C are often (maybe always) A's. That is the word I seek. There is a word that identifies that condition. Maybe this is a type of syllogism, but "syllogism" is not the word I once heard.

A classic example is the Mafia. The Mafia is all Italian, but not all Italians are Mafiosi. Like I say, there is a word for that situation. I'm not picking on Italians. I could choose dozens of equivelent ethnic stereotypes.

I have inquired at the Library Reference Desk, I have asked Jeeves. Neither could help. I have not yet called a University Philosophy Dept or the Library of Congress. Any help would be appreciated.

I think this illustrates a more general problem---how does one find a word when one only knows the definition? Is there some sort of a reverse dictionary? A Thesaurus doesn't help. I don't have a synonym. When there is S/W that truly understands a question, then I can pose the question to the computer in the same way I have here.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), July 03, 2001

Answers

http://www.datanation.com/fallacies/index.htm

-- (maybe@this'll.help), July 03, 2001.

Hasty Generalization comes to mind.

-- (Weeble@wee.ble), July 03, 2001.

It sounds like a "statistical syllogism"

Lars, look here: link

-- (cin@cin.cin), July 03, 2001.

DA BROS.----HOMIES??---MY CUT----HOMEBOY'S.

-- al-d. (dogs@zianet.com), July 03, 2001.

Sweeping generalization?

-- Got (a C@in.Logic), July 03, 2001.

Lars you say this word describes a "condition" that defines the relationship between A, B & C. Right? Don't know the word BTW but will help fetch.

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), July 03, 2001.

Subset.

B is a subset of A. Not all A are in the subset of B, but all B are in the subset of A. Your use of behavior C is merely an identifier for the members of the subset B.

I love you Lars.

-- helen (math@is.hard), July 04, 2001.

sigh...try this again...long night at work...

You have set A. Set B is a subset OF set A. Not all members of set A are members of set B, but all members of set B are members of set A. Members of set B are identified by behavior C.

Since you're looking at the whole population in your handy Venn diagram, you can see everyone in the set A population. Those people who exhibit behavior C are totally contained within set B, which is a subset of set A.

Picture one big circle with everyone in it. Then picture a smaller circle with only those people who exhibit behavior C. The smaller circle is set B, which is a subset of A.

-- helen (typing@is.even.harder), July 04, 2001.

Godel's Incompleteness Theorem

-- (Self@referential.statements), July 04, 2001.

I feel your pain, Lars. I think most of us are familiar with the concept, but no one word comes to MY mind today to describe it.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), July 04, 2001.

Lars,

Sorry for the lat response, but I think the word you are looking for is STEREOTYPE, which you actually referred to in you initial question.

A classic example is the Mafia. The Mafia is all Italian, but not all Italians are Mafiosi.

Saying that all Italians are Mafiosi (sp) is a stereotype. Or am I missing something else that was in your question.

-- SteveOH (sroors@aol.com), July 05, 2001.