Equivocation
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Equivocation is a logical fallacy that relies on the different meanings a word can have in different contexts. It is a favorite fallacy of creationist and woo hucksters alike. It can be used both to seemingly belittle a concept or idea, or to raise one up to false pretenses. It can be used to disguise bullshit like in quantum woo where people like Deepak Chopra use equivocation to make their ideas sound like they have some basis in reality.
[edit] Examples
- "Because it's called the 'theory of evolution,' evolution is an unproven assumption!" This is fallacious because it equivocates two different meanings of the word "theory".
- "You have faith in science, and I have faith in God." This assumes that science is another religion, when in reality science does not require faith.
- "Because the word 'Nazi' is short for 'National Socialism,' socialists are Nazis." The Nazi platform was never socialist in any way; they just called themselves that. For a modern equivalent, look at the Liberal Party of Australia, who are not in any way liberals.
- "The Theory of Relativity is immoral because it promotes Moral Relativism." This equivocates two different meanings of the word "relative".
- "Since Evolutionism is based on the work of Darwin, Evolutionists are in favor of Social Darwinism." Social Darwinism, while named after Darwin, was not supported by him, nor is it supported by modern evolutionary theory.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Equivocation, entry at the Fallacy Files
| Articles about logical fallacies | |||||
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| Formal fallacies | |||||
| Affirming the consequent | Denying the antecedent | ||||
| Informal fallacies | |||||
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Equivocation |
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| Red herrings | |||||
| Conditional fallacies | |||||
| Fallacious argument styles | |||||