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Definition:
This fallacy occurs when a general rule is applied to a specific case it was not intended to cover:

Typically, the general rule is implied in the premises and then wrongly applied to the specific case mentioned in the conclusion.

Note: the opposite fallacy is called "converse accident" or hasty generalization.


Examples:

1. The law says that you should not travel faster than 55 mph, thus even though your father could not breathe, you should not have travelled faster than 55 mph.
    
2. It is good to return things you have borrowed. Therefore, you should return this automatic rifle from the madman you borrowed it from.
    
3. Freedom of speech is a constitutionally protected right. Therefore, John Radical should not have been arrested for his speech that incited the riot last week.
    

Proof: Identify the generalization in question and show that it is not a universal generalization. Then show that the circumstances of this case suggest that the generalization ought not to apply.

References
Copi and Cohen: 100; Hurley: 125.




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