21. Argumentation

See also 250. LOGIC ; 312. PHILOSOPHY ; 354. RHETORIC and RHETORICAL DEVICES .

alogism

Obsolete, a statement that is nonsensical or illogical.

amphilogy

Obsolete, a statement open to more than one interpretation; an ambiguity.

analogy

an agreement or correspondence in particular features between things otherwise dissimilar; the inference that if two things agree with each other in one or more respects, they will probably agree in yet other respects. — analogous, adj.

antilogy

a contradiction.

apagoge

a method of argument in which the proposition to be established is emphasized through the disproving of its contradiction; reductio ad absurdum. — apagogic, adj.

apologist

a person who defends, in speech or writing, a faith, doctrine, idea, or action.

circularism, circularity

reasoning or arguing in a circle.

conciliationism

the belief in and use of conciliation in an argument. — conhciliationist, n. — conciliatory, adj.

disceptation

Obsolete, controversy or argument. — disceptator, n.

disputation

a controversial debate or discussion; a dispute. See also 382. SPEECH . — disputant, n.

dissentation

Obsolete, the act of dissenting or disagreeing. — dissenter, n.

divarication

a difference of opinion.

doctrinarianism

a stubborn attachment to a theory or doctrine without regard to its practicability. Also spelled doctrinairism . — doctrinaire, n., adj.

dogmatism

1. a statement of a point of view as if it were an established fact.

2. the use of a system of ideas based upon insufficiently examined premises. — dogmatist, n. — dogmatic, adj.

epagogue

a method of induction in which enumeration of particulars leads to the inferred generalization. — epagogic, adj.

episyllogism

a syllogism whose premises are the conclusion of a preceding syllogism.

ergotism

the practice or habit of quibbling and wrangling; sophistical reasoning. — ergotize, v.

eristic

1. a participant in an argument or controversy.

2. the art of disputation. — eristic, eristical, adj.

forensics

the art and study of argumentation and formal debate. — forensic, adj.

heuristics

a method of argument in which postulates or assumptions are made that remain to be proven or that lead the arguers to discover the proofs themselves. — heuristic, adj.

hypothesis

1. a principle or proposition that is assumed for the sake of argument or that is taken for granted to proceed to the proof of the point in question.

2. a system or theory created to account for something that is not understood. — hypothesist, hypothetist, n. — hypothetic, hypothetical, adj.

logicaster

1. a person who is pedantic in argument.

2. a person whose logic is less valid than he thinks.

Megarianism

Euclid of Megara’s Socratic school of philosophy, known for the use of logical paradox and near-specious subtleties.

misology

a hatred of argument, debate, or reasoning. — misologist, n.

noetics

the laws of logic; the science of the intellect. — noetic, adj.

obscurantism

the use of argument intended to prevent enlightenment or to hinder the process of knowledge and wisdom. Also spelled obscuranticism . — obscurantist, n. — obscurant, obscurantic, adj.

obstructionism

deliberate interference with the progress of an argument. — obstructionist, n. — obstructionistic, adj.

paradoxology

the proposing of paradoxical opinions; speaking in paradoxes. — paradoxer, n.

paralogism, paralogy, paralogia

a method or process of reasoning which contradicts logical rules or formulas, especially the use of a faulty syllogism (the formal fallacy). — paralogist, n . — paralogistic, adj.

philopolemic

Rare. related to a love of controversy and argument. — philopolemist, n.

pilpulist

one who uses Talmudic dialectic; a subtle reasoner. — pilpulistic, adj.

polemicist, polemist

a skilled debater in speech or writing. — polemical, adj.

polemics

the art of dispute or argument. — polemic, n., adj. — polemically, n., adv.

polysyllogism

a series of syllogisms set up systematically.

prolepsis

anticipating an opponent’s argument and answering it before it can be made. See also 174. FUTURE . — proleptic, adj.

pseudosyllogism

a false syllogism whose conclusion does not follow from its premises.

quodlibet

a nice or fine point, as in argument; a subtlety. — quodlibetal, adj.

quodlibetarian

a person who likes to talk about or dispute fine points or quodlibets.

redargution

Obsolete , the act or process of refuting or disproving. — redargutory, adj.

referee

a person who decides a matter when the parties to it are in conflict; an umpire or judge.

simplism

the tendency to concentrate on a single part of an argument and to ignore or exclude all complicating factors. — simplistic, adj.

sophism

1. a specious argument for displaying ingenuity in reasoning or for deceiving someone.

2. any false argument or fallacy. — sophister, n. — sophistic, adj.

sophist

1. Ancient Greece. a teacher of rhetoric, philosophy, etc; hence, a learned person.

2. one who is given to the specious arguments often used by the sophists.

sophistry

1. the teachings and ways of teaching of the Greek sophists.

2. specious or fallacious reasoning, as was sometimes used by the sophists.

syllogism

a form of reasoning in which two statements are made and a logical conclusion is drawn from them. See also 250. LOGIC . — syllogistic, adj.

trenchancy

the state or quality of being forceful, incisive, or penetrating, as in words or an argument. — trenchant, adj.

trichoschisticism

hair-splitting, as in argument; the making of overly fine points.