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Equivocal
Equivocal is the grammatical quality of ambiguity due to a term's having multiple meanings. It is the latin translation of the greek adjective "homonymous". * Equivocation In logic, equivocation ("calling two different things by the same name") is an informal fallacy resulting from the use of a particular word or expression in multiple senses within an argument. It is a type of ambiguity that stems from a phrase ..., in logic, a fallacy from using a phrase in multiple senses * Equivocal generation, in biology, the disproven theory of spontaneous generation from a host organism See also * Equivocation (other) {{disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equivocal Generation
Spontaneous generation is a superseded scientific theory that held that living creatures could arise from non-living matter and that such processes were commonplace and regular. It was hypothesized that certain forms, such as fleas, could arise from inanimate matter such as dust, or that maggots could arise from dead flesh. The doctrine of spontaneous generation was coherently synthesized by the Greek philosopher and naturalist Aristotle, who compiled and expanded the work of earlier natural philosophers and the various ancient explanations for the appearance of organisms. Spontaneous generation was taken as scientific fact for two millennia. Though challenged in the 17th and 18th centuries by the experiments of the Italian biologists Francesco Redi and Lazzaro Spallanzani, it was not discredited until the work of the French chemist Louis Pasteur and the Irish physicist John Tyndall in the mid-19th century. Among biologists, rejecting spontaneous genesis is no longer contro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homonym
In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciation (regardless of spelling). Using this definition, the words ''row'' (propel with oars), ''row'' (a linear arrangement) and ''row'' (an argument) are homonyms because they are homographs (though only the first two are homophones); so are the words ''see'' (vision) and ''sea'' (body of water), because they are homophones (though not homographs). A more restrictive and technical definition requires that homonyms be simultaneously homographs ''and'' homophoneshomonym ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' at dictionary.com—that is, they have identical spelling ''and'' pronunciation but different mea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equivocation
In logic, equivocation ("calling two different things by the same name") is an informal fallacy resulting from the use of a particular word or expression in multiple senses within an argument. It is a type of ambiguity that stems from a phrase having two or more distinct meanings, not from the grammar or structure of the sentence. Fallacy of four terms Equivocation in a syllogism (a chain of reasoning) produces a fallacy of four terms (). Below is an example: : Since only man umanis rational. : And no woman is a man ale : Therefore, no woman is rational. The first instance of "man" implies the entire human species, while the second implies just those who are male. Motte-and-bailey fallacy Equivocation can also be used to conflate two positions which share similarities, one modest and easy to defend and one much more controversial. The arguer advances the controversial position, but when challenged, they insist that they are only advancing the more modest position. See ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
