casuistry
nounUK /ˈkæzjuːɪstɹi/ · US /ˈkæʒuːəstɹi/
Etymology From casuist + -ry.
1
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.
- Cages for Gnats, and Chains to Yoak a Flea; Dry'd Butterflies, and Tomes of Caſuiſtry1714, Alexander Pope, Miscellaneous poems and translations, by several hands. Particularly The first book of Statius his Thebais [&c.] by mr. Pope, page 374:
- The letters of Margarita were all that the fondest lover could desire, the eye of a poet linger on, but they did not contain the casuistry which could lead Glentworth to renounce a faith which he had now been led to examine in a manner he had certainly never done before.1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 85:
2 more examples
- And yet it would seem that the whole analysis he had made, his attempt to find a moral solution to the problem, was complete. His casuistry had been honed to a razor’s edge, and he could no longer think of any objections.1968, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, translated by Sidney Monas, Crime and Punishment, published 1866:
- “And if you lose?” Diana enunciated, through a thin grin. She meant to extract casuistry’s penalty in advance.1995, Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2, New York, N.Y.: Farrar Straus Giroux, →ISBN, page 47:
› An intricate argument, particularly
2
Derogatory Hairsplitting, argument with quibbling detail.
3
Derogatory Sophistry, a specious argument designed to defend an action or feeling.
- I felt it was hopeless to argue against casuistry of this nature, which, if it were carried to its logical conclusion, would absolutely destroy all morality, as we understand it.1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
4
Derogatory Legalism, argument concerning the text of a written law against all other factors.
- Related terms
- casuist, casuistic, casuistical, casuistically, casuistics