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These fallacies occur because the author mistakenly assumes that the whole is nothing more than the sum of its parts. However, things joined together may have different properties as a whole than any of them do separately.

Composition

Because the parts of a whole have a certain property, it is argued that the whole has that property. That whole may be either an object composed of different parts, or it may be a collection or set of individual members. For example:

"The brick wall is six feet tall. Thus, the bricks in the wall are six feet tall."

"Judo is a gentle art. Thus, each Judo player is gentle.".

Division

Because the whole has a certain property, it is argued that the parts have that property. The whole in question may be either a whole object or a collection or set of individual members. For example:

"Because the brain is capable of consciousness, each neural cell in the brain must be capable of consciousness."

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