English Dictionary: casuistry | by the DICT Development Group |
2 results for casuistry | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Casuistry \Cas"u*ist*ry\, a. 1. The science or doctrine of dealing with cases of conscience, of resolving questions of right or wrong in conduct, or determining the lawfulness or unlawfulness of what a man may do by rules and principles drawn from the Scriptures, from the laws of society or the church, or from equity and natural reason; the application of general moral rules to particular cases. The consideration of these nice and puzzling question in the science of ethics has given rise, in modern times, to a particular department of it, distinguished by the title of casuistry. --Stewart. Casuistry in the science of cases (i.e., oblique deflections from the general rule). --De Quincey. 2. Sophistical, equivocal, or false reasoning or teaching in regard to duties, obligations, and morals. |