Accident

Definition:

A general rule is applied when circumstances suggest that an exception to the rule should apply.

Examples:

(i) The law says that you should not travel faster than 55 mph, thus even though your passenger was having a heart attack, you should not have travelled faster than 55 mph.

(ii) It is good to return things you have borrowed. Therefore, you should return this automatic rifle from the madman you borrowed it from. (Adapted from Plato's Republic, Book I).

Proof:

Identify the generalization in question and show that it is relevant only in a context different from the one in question. Show that the reasons for the original generalization that justified the rule don't hold in the specified case.

References:

Copi and Cohen: 100

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