Casuistry

ˈkaZHo͞oəstrē | noun | Clever but bogus reasoning, an excessively subtle argument that is more about seeming smart than being true or meaningful, especially if it has moral implications. Deepities are classic casuistry. I am still pretty unclear on the difference between casuistry and sophistry.

Reader and poet Dale Favier proposes another definition: “2. Any line of reasoning which the speaker dislikes.” Indeed, whether an argument is actually casuistry can be ambiguous and subjective. And for extra casuistry points, you can use casuistry to accuse someone of it …