category error
Mixing incompatible kinds
A category error is the mistake of treating something as if it belongs to a type or class it doesn't actually belong to.
The classic example is asking What color is the number seven? —the question wrongly assumes numbers have colors.
Category errors often reveal confused thinking: asking where the mind is located treats consciousness as if it were a physical object.
Also called a category mistake.
Illogical leap in reasoning
- false equivalenceFlawed comparison of unlike things
- misapplicationIncorrect or improper usage
- illogicalityFailure of sound reasoning
- incongruityLack of harmony
equivocation · misattribution · absurdity · nonsensical · inapplicable
Erroneous categorical assignment
- mind-bodyMental-physical relationship
- ghost in the machineMind separate from body
- reificationTreating abstracts as concrete
non-sequitur
Illogical leap in reasoning
- false equivalenceFlawed comparison of unlike things
- misapplicationIncorrect or improper usage
- illogicalityFailure of sound reasoning
incongruity · equivocation · misattribution · absurdity · nonsensical · inapplicable
misclassification
Erroneous categorical assignment
- mind-bodyMental-physical relationship
- ghost in the machineMind separate from body
- reificationTreating abstracts as concrete
- ambiguityambiguity, ambivalence, double meaning, vagueness, equivocation
- fallaciesstraw man, red herring, circular reasoning, ad hominem, fallacy
- research errorsselection bias, confirmation bias, survivorship bias, cognitive bias, confounding variables
- bad comparisonsapples to oranges, false equivalence
- semanticsmeaning, denotation, sense, connotation, reference
category errorfactual error
Incorrect assertion of fact
measurement error · logical fallacy · false statement · false premise · typo
category, error, categories, categorical, categorically, categorize, categorization, categorized, categorizing