Fallacy of division

The fallacy of division concludes that if a whole has a property, each of its parts must have it too.

Example

“The university is prestigious. Therefore every professor is excellent.”
(Institutional prestige does not guarantee each component.)

Applied example (political)

“The party is honest, therefore every candidate is honest.”
(Whole-level properties do not automatically transfer.)

Applied example (mystical)

“The community is luminous, so each member is enlightened.”
(Collective traits are applied to individuals.)

Why it is fallacious

• Whole-level properties do not automatically distribute.
• It ignores internal variation.
• It confuses global traits with individual cases.

How to spot it

• A system-level claim is applied to each component.
• No evidence is provided about the specific parts.
• Overgeneralization without disaggregated data.

How to respond

• Ask for evidence about the parts, not only the whole.
• Point out internal heterogeneity.
• Evaluate each case with its own data.