SOPHISM: CONCEPT, TYPES, DIFFERENCE WITH FALLACY, EXAMPLES - DUDAS - 2025

A sophistry is a false premise or argument, formulated with the deliberate purpose of deceiving another. The term specifically refers to reasonings that appear to be correct but which, from a logical perspective, are not and are intended to mislead.

The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines it as "false reason or argument with the appearance of truth". The word comes from the Greek sophía which means "wisdom" and sophos which refers to "wise".

Sophism is a false premise that seeks to mislead. Source: Pixabay

Aristotle gave great importance to sophisms in his Organon, for his interest in reasoning and language, but also for his intention to study the procedures of the sophists and the art of discussion.

Concept

Sophism can be defined as any false statement that appears to have been obtained through a systematic methodology, so it is convincing or plausible, but tries to confuse or deceive the interlocutor.

The reference to the Sophists of Ancient Greece is inescapable, who were those experts or sages who claimed to teach wisdom and rhetoric.

His practice of charging money for education was frowned upon by other philosophers like Socrates. In fact, the sophists were considered charlatans, persuasive and deceitful, capable of confusing or convincing through their arguments.

Types of sophisms

Sofirma comes from the Greek terms 'sophía' and 'sophos'. Source: Pixabay

There is a considerable variety of classifications in sophisms but a consensus or definitive typology has not yet been reached. In the case of Aristotle, he differentiated them by identifying those that result from language or linguistic, with those that do not result from it or are extralinguistic.

Resulting from language

The resulting language can be divided into the following:

- Mistake: it supposes that within the same reasoning a term is taken once with one meaning and again with another. For example, the word "Venus" can refer to a planet or be the name of a goddess, so it has a double meaning.

- Amphibology: in two premises with a common term, it is considered that the assumption remains constant, when in reality it varies. For example: “Andrés's book”. Andrés can be thought of as the author or the owner of the book.

- False conjunction: it is due to the wrong composition, generally due to lack of punctuation. Example: "I walked to the table (,) sat down and took the phone."

- Separation or false disjunction: implies an error for separating terms. Example: "Seven is equal to three and four." "Seven equals three and four"

- False accentuation. Example "He walked / way there"

- False form of expression: those with an analogical argument that does not rely on a relevant similarity or that forgets differences that prevent the conclusion. Example: “Ana and María are women. If Ana is brunette, then Maria is too. "

Not resulting from language

Among the sophisms not resulting from language, but from the matter itself under discussion, Aristotle determines those indicated below:

- Ignorance of the matter: it is something that can go through the contradiction posed by the opponent. It is usually present in daily discussions. Example: "science is not beneficial to humanity, since it has allowed the atomic bomb to be invented."

- False equation of the subject and the accident: it involves taking an accidental property as essential, which leads to errors by generalization. Example: “Cutting a person with a knife is a crime. Surgeons cut people with knives ”.

- Confusion of the relative with the absolute: a universal premise is extracted from a restricted sense. Example: "It is lawful to kill in self-defense, then it is lawful to kill."

- Ignorance of the consequent: the truth of a premise is assured from a conclusion, contradicting linear logic. Example: "When it rains, the river rises." "As the river grew, then it is raining"

- Petition at the beginning: one in which what is to be proved is used as evidence. Example: “I always tell the truth; therefore, I never lie ”.

- Vicious circle: it is a variant of the previous request, but in this case the procedure is hidden or words are used to conceal it. Example: "They punished him because he did something wrong"; "And if he did something wrong, it is okay for him to be punished."

- Confusion of the cause with what is not a cause: relate as cause and effect things that have nothing to do with each other. Example: I observe that the rooster crows and the sun rises. Therefore the rooster makes the sun rise.

- Meeting of several questions in one: it involves gathering several questions in one and not being able to give a uniform answer. Example: "Are vices and virtues good or bad?"

Difference with fallacy

On numerous occasions the term fallacy and sophistry are used as synonyms, however, they have a differentiation. The fallacy is a reasoning only in appearance, since the judgment presented as a conclusion is not such a conclusion. This can also be called paralogism.

Meanwhile, sophistry is apparently true reasoning for the purpose of deceit. The difference is clearly of a psychological nature, but not of a logical nature, since both imply a wrong reasoning.

Sophisms are usually identified with the logical fallacy as it is a mode or pattern of reasoning that always or almost always leads to an incorrect argument, as this can sometimes be deliberate manipulation. In fact, this type of fallacy is the most common mechanism for applying cognitive biases.

Examples of sophisms

The use of sophistry in everyday conversation may be more frequent than we would think. A clear example of them can be found in the generalizations, in phrases such as "all women drive badly", "all immigrants are rude"

They can also be detected in some superstitions or urban legends such as "cutting your hair on a full moon will make it grow faster", "going under a ladder brings bad luck"

When making predictions, begging the question is often elaborated such as "I've studied hard and I will get good marks."

Also when you want to persuade another either to shape their thinking as in the case of political speeches or sales strategies. For example: "Our government will end poverty and root corruption" or "The lottery that will make you a millionaire."

References

1. At Meanings.com. Recovered from meanings.com
2. About the meaning of fallacies. In Pages on philosophy. Recovered from com
3. Fatone, V. (1969) Logic and introduction to philosophy. Buenos Aires: Editorial Kapelusz
4. (2019, November 28). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from es.wikipedia.org
5. Salles, Ricardo. (2010). The Stoic Theory of Sophisms. Nova tellus, 28 (2), 145-179.