paralogism
- noun
- /ˌpærəˈlɒdʒɪzəm/
- Specialized
:
paralogismo
- The philosopher pointed out the paralogism in his opponent’s argument during the debate.
Examples
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Critical thinking helps to identify a paralogism before accepting an argument as valid.
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Her essay contained a subtle paralogism that most readers failed to recognize.
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His argument was a clear example of paralogism.
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Many students struggle with paralogisms in their essays.
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His conclusion was based on a paralogism, as he had misunderstood the original argument.
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During the debate, she inadvertently relied on a paralogism, which weakened her position.
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The teacher explained that a paralogism can often arise from a simple misunderstanding of the premises.
Synonyms
94
7.2
A wrong belief that comes from bad reasoning
9
7.6
A mistake in thinking that makes an argument wrong or weak
1
8.5
A reason that seems good but is actually wrong
Antonyms
How Logical
Surface Forms
Morphology
paralogism = para + log + ism
Although it can be segmented as para- + log- + -ism, this is a learned classical borrowing and the specialized meaning is not readily inferable for most learners from the parts.
Etymology
Paralogism comes from Greek parts para- meaning 'beside' or 'wrong' and logos meaning 'word' or 'reason', the same root you see in logic. So a paralogism is reasoning that goes 'beside' the truth — a mistaken or invalid argument.