The first in an occasional series. Now I don’t really know my syllogisms from my enthymemes, so further translation may be required. Sydney Morning Herald op-eds do not necessarily lend themselves to a logical treatment, and I have taken the liberty of supplying some unstated but necessary propositions. In other cases, I have unable to discern the missing propositions and have accordingly left them out. Unfortunately, this means not all premises lead to conclusions and not all conclusions derive from premises.
Elizabeth Farrelly, 19 October, 2009: Wake up, Greens, and savour the organic pork belly
1. Books about organic cooking ought to be literary and aesthetic delights, and contain jokes.
2. A book I bought about organic cooking turned out to be nether literarily nor aesthetically delightful, nor did it contain jokes.
3. The nature of books about organic cooking reflects the green agenda.
Therefore: 4. The green agenda is flawed by its lack of literary and aesthetic delight, particularly in regard to jokes.
5. The green agenda is naturally conservative.
6. The voters of the Higgins electorate are naturally conservative.
7. The Green Party is radical.
8. At the upcoming Higgins by-election, the winner will be the Party whose character reflects the views of the voters of the Higgins electorate.
9. The Green Party should attempt to win the upcoming Higgins by-election and future elections of its type.
Therefore: 10. The Green Party should stop being radical and become naturally conservative.
11. A clear sign of the Green Party becoming naturally conservative would be the appearance of a recipe for organic pork belly in future books about organic cooking.