Faulty Generalization

Aristotle first systematically studied this fallacy in De Sophisticis Elenchis (Sophistical Refutations), written around 350 BCE, where he distinguished the secundum quid fallacy—moving to a universal generalization while overlooking necessary qualifications. The modern term "hasty generalization" emerged in the twentieth century as scholars formalized the classification of informal fallacies. It describes the error of reaching an inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence—essentially making a rushed conclusion without examining enough cases.