casuist
Moral reasoning quibbler
A casuist applies general moral principles to specific cases, particularly difficult or ambiguous ones where competing values clash.
The term often carries negative connotations, suggesting someone who uses clever but specious reasoning to justify questionable actions or avoid moral responsibility.
The lawyer was accused of being a casuist, twisting ethics to serve his client's interests.
In religious contexts, casuistry was once a respected discipline for resolving matters of conscience.
One who speaks ambiguously
- quibblerOne who raises petty objections
- hair-splitterOne obsessing over minutiae
- sophistDeceptive rhetorical trickster
- nitpickerOne who criticizes trivial details
prevaricator · obfuscator · rationalizer · dissembler · jesuitical · specious · fallacious · disingenuous
One preaching right conduct
- ethicistExpert in moral theory
- conscienceInternal moral sense
- scruplesMoral reservations about acting
- principlesFoundational moral beliefs
virtue · righteousness · integrity · probity · rectitude · confessor · sin · transgression
Systematic reasoning process
- dialecticLogical argument through opposition
- syllogismFormal deductive argument structure
- deductionConclusion from premises
- inferenceConclusion reached through reasoning
analysis · rationalization · justification · interpretation · logic · precedent · analogy · distinction
State of perplexity
- predicamentDifficult, unpleasant situation
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- conflictOpposition between parties
equivocator
One who speaks ambiguously
- quibblerOne who raises petty objections
- hair-splitterOne obsessing over minutiae
- sophistDeceptive rhetorical trickster
nitpicker · prevaricator · obfuscator · rationalizer · dissembler · jesuitical · specious · fallacious · disingenuous · artful
moralist
One preaching right conduct
- ethicistExpert in moral theory
- conscienceInternal moral sense
- scruplesMoral reservations about acting
principles · virtue · righteousness · integrity · probity · rectitude · confessor · sin · transgression · culpability
argumentation
Systematic reasoning process
- dialecticLogical argument through opposition
- syllogismFormal deductive argument structure
- deductionConclusion from premises
inference · analysis · rationalization · justification · interpretation · logic · precedent · analogy · distinction · exception
quandary
State of perplexity
- predicamentDifficult, unpleasant situation
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- conflictOpposition between parties