logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

, equivocation ("calling two different things by the same name") is an

informal fallacy Informal fallacies are a type of incorrect argument in natural language. The source of the error is not just due to the ''form'' of the argument, as is the case for formal fallacies, but can also be due to their ''content'' and ''context''. Fallac ...

resulting from the use of a particular word or expression in multiple senses within an argument. It is a type of

ambiguity Ambiguity is the type of meaning (linguistics), meaning in which a phrase, statement, or resolution is not explicitly defined, making for several interpretations; others describe it as a concept or statement that has no real reference. A com ...

that stems from a phrase having two or more distinct meanings, not from the grammar or structure of the sentence.

Fallacy of four terms

Equivocation in a

syllogism A syllogism (, ''syllogismos'', 'conclusion, inference') is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true. In its earliest form (defin ...

(a chain of reasoning) produces a fallacy of four terms (). Below is an example: : Since only man

uman Uman (, , ) is a city in Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. It is located to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the east of the historical region of Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River. Uman serves as the administrative c ...

is rational. : And no woman is a man ale : Therefore, no woman is rational. The first instance of "man" implies the entire human species, while the second implies just those who are male.

Motte-and-bailey fallacy

Equivocation can also be used to conflate two positions which share similarities, one modest and easy to defend and one much more controversial. The arguer advances the controversial position, but when challenged, they insist that they are only advancing the more modest position.

* Antanaclasis: A related purposeful rhetorical device * Circumlocution: Phrasing to explain something without saying it * Equivocality: Organizational information theory * Etymological fallacy: A kind of linguistic misconception * Evasion (ethics): Tell the truth while deceiving * False equivalence: Fallacy based on flawed reasoning * If-by-whiskey: An example * Map-territory relation: Concept that words used to describe an underlying reality are arbitrary abstractions not to be confused with the reality itself * Mental reservation: A doctrine in moral theology * No true Scotsman: Changing a definition to exclude a counter-example *

Persuasive definition A persuasive definition is a form of stipulative definition which purports to describe the true or commonly accepted meaning of a term, while in reality stipulating an uncommon or altered use, usually to support an argument for some view, or to cr ...

: Skewed definition of term * Plausible deniability: A blame-shifting technique *

Polysemy Polysemy ( or ; ) is the capacity for a Sign (semiotics), sign (e.g. a symbol, morpheme, word, or phrase) to have multiple related meanings. For example, a word can have several word senses. Polysemy is distinct from ''monosemy'', where a word h ...

: The property of word or phrase having certain type of multiple meanings * Principle of explosion: One of the fundamental laws in logic * Syntactic ambiguity, Amphiboly, Amphibology: Ambiguity of a sentence by its grammatical structure * When a white horse is not a horse: An example

References

External links

* {{Fallacies Verbal fallacies Ambiguity

Fallacy of four terms

Motte-and-bailey fallacy

See also

References

External links