casuistry
UK /ˈkæzjuːɪstɹi/ · US /ˈkæʒuːəstɹi/ noun
Forms casuistries
- noun The process of answering practical questions by means of interpretation of rules, or of cases that illustrate such rules, especially in ethics; case-based reasoning.
- noun (derogatory) Hairsplitting, argument with quibbling detail.
- noun (derogatory) Sophistry, a specious argument designed to defend an action or feeling.
- noun (derogatory) Legalism, argument concerning the text of a written law against all other factors.
Synonyms
Etymology
From casuist + -ry.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective The science or doctrine of dealing with cases of conscience, of resolving questions of right or wrong in conduct, or determining the lawfulness or unlawfulness of what a man may do by rules and principles drawn from the Scriptures, from the laws of society or the church, or from equity and natural reason; the application of general moral rules to particular cases.
- adjective Sophistical, equivocal, or false reasoning or teaching in regard to duties, obligations, and morals.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “casuistry”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details