Fallacies of definition, Fallacies of definition - Circularity, Fallacies of definition - Defining with a near synonym, Fallacies of definition - Defining with a synonym, Fallacies of definition - Obscurity, Fallacies of definition - Over-broad definitions, Fallacies of definition - Over-narrow definitions
ARTICLES RELATED TO Fallacies of definition - Circularity
There is a general name for the first two sorts of error: circular definition. A circular definition is somewhat similar to a question-begging argument: neither offers us enlightenment about the thing we wanted to be enlightened about.
Fallacies of definition - Defining with a synonym.
A definition is no good if it simply gives a one-word synonym. For example, suppose we define the word "virtue"—an important word in ethics—just using the word "excellence." It might be perfectly true that all vir ...
