“Molecules are in random motion. The Qutub Minar is composed of molecules.…

Concept

The fallacy of composition occurs when a property of individual parts is transferred to the whole without adequate justification.

A whole may have emergent or aggregate behaviour that its components do not share in the same way.

Application

The premises attribute random motion to molecules and then transfer that property to the Qutub Minar solely because it is made of molecules. The inference moves from parts to whole without establishing that the structure itself moves randomly.

Contrast

• Equivocation: a key term changes meaning between statements.

• Slippery slope: an unsupported chain of increasingly serious consequences is asserted.

• Hasty generalization: a broad claim is drawn from too little or unrepresentative evidence.

Cross-check

Ask what direction the property transfer takes: from components (molecules) to the complete object (Qutub Minar). That direction is the diagnostic pattern of composition, whereas division transfers a property of a whole to its parts.

Thus, the argument commits the fallacy of composition.