Non sequitur - what is it?

The definition of a non sequitur is a conclusion that does not follow from the basic statement or assumptions (from the Latin - it does not follow).

Consider the following examples (the non sequitur in each is in bold):

1. The woman purchased caviar, truffles and fine wine at the shop, so she must drive an expensive car.

2. He needed advice about what gift to purchase for his wife. He had been divorced twice before.

3. They made it to the boundary gate of the property quickly, because they were travelling in an easterly direction.

4. My nephew never makes his bed. Teenagers today are far too lazy.

In each of these instances, the conclusion drawn after the first statement cannot be accepted as automatic or even logical. There are many conclusions which could be drawn from each of statements.

For instance, in Example 1, the woman may have just sold her car in order to be able to make the purchase; she may have spent her last cent on this purchase and may now be destitute; she may simply like the taste of these three items, rather than have purchased them because of their exotic nature; or, she may indeed be wealthy, but it is not possible to gauge the kind of car she drives based on the purchase of three grocery items. It does not follow. Further, none of these circumstances point directly to whether she drives a car at all.

Examples 2, 3 and 4 are similar, in that there could be many explanations for each of the statements, rather than the assumption which has been used. See how many you can think of for each one and you'll see what I mean.

What does follow then (keeping in mind that it should NOT be a non sequitur), is that one should aim not to have an instance of a non sequitur in one's work should one be hoping to communicate clearly and logically.

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