Conflation is the merging of two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, or opinions into one, often in error. Conflation is defined as 'fusing blending', but is often used colloquially as 'being equal to' - treating two similar but disparate concepts as the same.
Merriam Webster
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an American company that publishes reference books and is mostly known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States.
In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the compa ...
suggested this shift in usage happened relatively recently, entering their dictionary in 1973.
In
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
, it is the practice of treating two distinct
concept
A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs.
Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...
s as one, which produces errors or misunderstandings as a fusion of distinct subjects tends to obscure analysis of relationships which are emphasized by contrasts. However, if the distinctions between the two concepts may appear to be superficial, intentional conflation can be desirable for the sake of conciseness and recall.
Communication and reasoning
The result of conflating concepts may give rise to
fallacies
A fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument that may appear to be well-reasoned if unnoticed. The term was introduced in the Western intellectual tradition by the Aristotelian '' De Sophis ...
and
ambiguity
Ambiguity is the type of meaning (linguistics), meaning in which a phrase, statement, or resolution is not explicitly defined, making for several interpretations; others describe it as a concept or statement that has no real reference. A com ...
, including the
fallacy of four terms
The fallacy of four terms () is the formal fallacy that occurs when a syllogism has four (or more) terms rather than the requisite three, rendering it invalid.
Definition
Categorical syllogisms always have three terms:
:Major premise: Weapons a ...
in a categorical
syllogism
A syllogism (, ''syllogismos'', 'conclusion, inference') is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true.
In its earliest form (defin ...
. For example, the word "bat" has at least two distinct meanings: a
flying animal
A number of animals are capable of aerial locomotion, either by powered flight or by gliding. This trait has appeared by evolution many times, without any single common ancestor. Flight has evolved at least four times in separate animals: insec ...
, and a piece of sporting equipment (such as a
baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal Club (weapon), club used in the sport of baseball to hit the Baseball (ball), ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more t ...
or
cricket bat
A cricket bat is a specialised piece of equipment used by batters in the sport of cricket to hit the ball, typically consisting of a cane handle attached to a flat-fronted willow-wood blade. It may also be used by a batter who is making batte ...
). If these meanings are not distinguished, the result may be the following categorical
syllogism
A syllogism (, ''syllogismos'', 'conclusion, inference') is a kind of logical argument that applies deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two propositions that are asserted or assumed to be true.
In its earliest form (defin ...
, which may be seen as a joke (
pun
A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...
):
:#All bats are animals.
:#Some wooden objects are bats.
:#Therefore, some wooden objects are animals.
Using words with different meanings can help clarify, or can cause real confusion. English words with multiple (verb) meanings can be illustrated by instances in which a motion is merged with or a causation with manner, e.g. ''the bride floated towards her future.'' In this example, the bride may be married on a boat, airplane, or hot-air balloon, etc. She could be walking the aisle towards matrimony. The verb "float" has multiple meanings, and both verb meanings in the example may be proper uses of a bride "floating" toward a future. The "manner" of the scene, described by further context, would explain the true meaning of the sentence.
In an alternate illustrative example, ''respect'' is used both in the sense of recognizing a right and having high regard for someone or something. We can ''respect someone's right'' to an opinion without ''holding this idea in high regard''. But conflation of these two different concepts leads to the notion that all ideological ideas should be treated with respect, rather than just the right to hold these ideas. Conflation in logical terms is very similar to
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 ...
.
Taxonomic conflation
In linguistic, taxonomic conflation happens when a
polysemic
Polysemy ( or ; ) is the capacity for a Sign (semiotics), sign (e.g. a symbol, morpheme, word, or phrase) to have multiple related meanings. For example, a word can have several word senses. Polysemy is distinct from ''monosemy'', where a word h ...
term is on two or more taxic levels. This presents a difficulty in translation. An example is "sex-based conflation". For example, "spokesman", depending on the context, may mean a "spokesman who is man" and a "spokeswoman".
See also
*
Amalgamation (names)
An amalgamated name is a name that is formed by combining several previously existing names. These may take the form of an acronym (where only one letter of each name is taken) or a blend (where a large part of each name is taken, such as the fi ...
*
Confounding variable
In causal inference, a confounder is a variable that influences both the dependent variable and independent variable, causing a spurious association. Confounding is a causal concept, and as such, cannot be described in terms of correlati ...
in regression analysis
*
Essentialism
Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their Identity (philosophy), identity. In early Western thought, Platonic idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an Theory of forms, "idea" or "f ...
*
Portmanteau
In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
*
Skunked term
A skunked term is a word or phrase that becomes difficult to use because it is evolving from one meaning to another, perhaps inconsistent or even opposite, usage, or that becomes difficult to use due to other controversy surrounding the term. P ...
*
Stemming algorithm
In linguistic morphology and information retrieval, stemming is the process of reducing inflected (or sometimes derived) words to their word stem, base or root form—generally a written word form. The stem need not be identical to the morpholo ...
*
Syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...
Notes
References
* Alexiadou, Artemus. (2002)
''Theoretical Approaches to Universals.''Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
OCLC 49386229* Haught, John F. (1995)
''Science and Religion: From Conflict to Conversation.''New York: Paulist Press.
OCLC 32779780* Malone, Joseph L. (1988)
''The Science of Linguistics in the Art of Translation: Some Tools from Linguistics for the Analysis and Practice of Translation.''Albany, New York:
State University of New York Press
The State University of New York Press (more commonly referred to as the SUNY Press) is a university press affiliated with the State University of New York system. The press, which was founded in 1966, is located in Albany, New York and publishe ...
.
OCLC 15856738
External links
{{Wiktionary, conflation
Conflations
Concepts in logic
Fallacies
Concepts in the philosophy of language