jesuitical
Cleverly evasive arguing
Jesuitical means crafty or scheming, especially through subtle reasoning or equivocation.
The word derives from suspicion of the Jesuit religious order, whose sophisticated theological arguments struck critics as slippery or manipulative: a jesuitical defense of the policy, jesuitical reasoning that technically satisfied the law while violating its spirit.
The term is usually pejorative.
Applying principles to particulars
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
- hair-splittingExcessive focus on trivialities
- prevaricationMisleading speech avoiding directness
dissembling · rationalization · quibbling · evasion · subterfuge · obfuscation · ambiguity · loophole
Crafty and calculating
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
- craftyCleverly deceptive
- wilySkilled at deception
- manipulativeSkilled at controlling others
devious · shrewd · guileful · artful · sly · insidious · conniving · underhanded
Formal argumentative exchange
- dialecticsReasoning through contradiction
- syllogismFormal deductive argument structure
- theologyStudy of the divine
- philosophyStudy of fundamental truths
apologetics · doctrine · dogma · seminary · catechism · exegesis · systematic · rigorous
casuistry
Applying principles to particulars
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
- hair-splittingExcessive focus on trivialities
prevarication · dissembling · rationalization · quibbling · evasion · subterfuge · obfuscation · ambiguity · loophole · technicality
scheming
Crafty and calculating
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
- craftyCleverly deceptive
- wilySkilled at deception
manipulative · devious · shrewd · guileful · artful · sly · insidious · conniving · underhanded · Machiavellian
disputation
Formal argumentative exchange
- dialecticsReasoning through contradiction
- syllogismFormal deductive argument structure
- theologyStudy of the divine
philosophy · apologetics · doctrine · dogma · seminary · catechism · exegesis · systematic · rigorous · pedagogical
jesuiticalstraightforward
Clear and uncomplicated
honest · candid · forthright · direct · plain-dealing
jesuiticalsimple
Free of complexity
plain · unsophisticated · uncomplicated · unsubtle · black-and-white