In predicate logic, existential generalization[1][2] (also known as existential introduction, ∃I) is a valid rule of inference that allows one to move from a specific statement, or one instance, to a quantified generalized statement, or existential proposition.

In first-order logic, it is often used as a rule for the existential quantifier (

Example: "Rover loves to wag his tail.

Example: "Alice made herself a cup of tea.

Therefore, Alice made someone a cup of tea."

Example: "Alice made herself a cup of tea.

[3] According to Willard Van Orman Quine, universal instantiation and existential generalization are two aspects of a single principle, for instead of saying that

The principle embodied in these two operations is the link between quantifications and the singular statements that are related to them as instances.

It holds only in the case where a term names and, furthermore, occurs referentially.