casuistry
noun

- the use of clever arguments to trick people

- reasoning that is specious, misleading, or oversubtle

- the resolution of particular moral dilemmas, esp those arising from conflicting general moral rules, by careful distinction of the cases to which these rules apply

The Cambridge Dictionary, Collins Dictionary

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WORD PHRASE ORIGIN

The word "casuistry" derives from the Latin word casus, meaning "case" or "event".

In Medieval Latin, casus was used in theological and legal discussions to describe case-based reasoning, particularly for resolving moral questions.

The French word casuiste referred to someone skilled in resolving moral dilemmas by focusing on individual cases and was associated with Catholic theology, especially the Jesuits, who were known for their case-based moral reasoning.

The English term "casuistry" first appeared in the 16th century. It initially referred to the practice of applying moral principles to specific cases, particularly in theology and ethics.

Over time, the word's connotation shifted. By the 17th and 18th centuries, "casuistry" began to carry a negative undertone, often associated with overly subtle or sophistic reasoning used to justify questionable actions.

Today, "casuistry" typically refers to the use of clever but unsound reasoning, often seen as morally questionable or deceptive.

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VERBAL GYMNASTICS

The human mind is really clever at justifying almost anything, for example:

- Tech executives who claim their platform's addiction-inducing features are actually "enhancing user engagement for better community building."

- Politicians who insist their family-hired contractor won the bid "purely on merit."

- Fast fashion CEOs who declare their throwaway clothing line "democratizes style for the masses while creating jobs in developing nations.”

- Pharmaceutical executives explaining 200% price hikes as "ensuring sustainable research funding for tomorrow's breakthrough medicines.”

- Streaming services describing auto-play and "binge" features as "delivering seamless entertainment experiences tailored to viewer preferences.”

- Bottled water giants describing their plastic bottle production as "meeting consumer hydration needs through convenient packaging solutions.”

The real danger of such verbal gymnastics isn't just the deception of others – it's self-deception. When people start believing their own rationalizations, they lose the ability to see reality clearly. Like a lawyer who becomes convinced of their guilty client's innocence, they risk becoming prisoners of their own arguments.

While minds can rationalize anything, wisdom lies in knowing when not to try.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

a bag of tricks, a numbers game, air castles, alternative facts, artful dodging (reasoning), bamboozlement, beating around the bush, bending the rules, blowing smoke, bullshit, CASUISTRY, chicanery, circular reasoning, convoluted logic, cunning reasoning, deceptive logic, dirty tricks, double-talk, dubious reasoning, equivocation, fallacious reasoning, false logic, fancy footwork, fast-talk, hairsplitting, hocus-pocus, hollow reasoning, honeyfuggle, hoodwinking, jesuitical arguments, jiggery-pokery, juggling facts, legal eagle talk, legalistic wrangling, machiavellianism, monkey business, moral acrobatics, mumbo jumbo, play dirty, play games, pulling the wool, rhetorical sleight-of-hand, semantic games, shell game logic, shenanigans, slick reasoning, slippery logic, smoke and mirrors, smoothie talk, snakeoil logic, sophism, sophistry, speciousness, spin, spin doctoring, splitting hairs, spuriousness, subtle misdirection, swizzle, tortured logic, twisted logic, verbal acrobatics (gymnastics, sleight-of-hand), word games (juggling)

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“CASUISTRY is the attempt to make lying sound almost honest.”

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P L E A S E   S U P P O R T   O W A D

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