Casuistry
Christopher Hitchens, writing in Slate:
I used to have horrible and exhausting arguments with supposedly "pro-choice" militants who only reluctantly conceded that the fetus was alive but who then demanded to know if this truly was a human life. I know casuistry when I see it, and I would respond by asking what other kind of life it could conceivably be.ca·su·ist·ry:
- a resolving of specific cases of conscience, duty, or conduct through interpretation of ethical principles or religious doctrine
- specious argument: RATIONALIZATION
Thanks, Christopher Hitchens. You raise the bar beyond common rhetoric and enrich my mind in the process.
Posted by Matt at March 30, 2005 9:47 AM
