casuistry

From casuist +‎ -ry. First use appears c. 1712-1714. See cite below.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkæzjuːɪstɹi/, /ˈkæʒjuːɪstɹi/, /ˈkæʒuːɪstɹi/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkæʒuːəstɹi/

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• Hyphenation: ca‧su‧ist‧ry

casuistry (countable and uncountable, plural casuistries)

1. The process of answering practical questions via interpretation of rules, or of cases that illustrate such rules, especially in ethics; case-based reasoning.

   Synonym: casuistics

   • 1714, Alexander Pope, Miscellaneous poems and translations, by several hands. Particularly The first book of Statius his Thebais [&c.] by mr. Pope, page 374:

     Cages for Gnats, and Chains to Yoak a Flea; Dry'd Butterflies, and Tomes of Caſuiſtry

   • 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 85:

     The letters of Margarita were all that the fondest lover could desire, the eye of a poet linger on, but they did not contain the casuistry which could lead Glentworth to renounce a faith which he had now been led to examine in a manner he had certainly never done before.

   • 1968, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, translated by Sidney Monas, Crime and Punishment, published 1866:

     And yet it would seem that the whole analysis he had made, his attempt to find a moral solution to the problem, was complete. His casuistry had been honed to a razor’s edge, and he could no longer think of any objections.

   • 1995, Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2, New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, →ISBN, page 47:

     “And if you lose?” Diana enunciated, through a thin grin. She meant to extract casuistry’s penalty in advance.

2. (derogatory) A specious argument designed to defend an action or feeling.

   Synonyms: excuse, legalism, rationalization, sophistry

   Hyponym: euhemerization

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     I felt it was hopeless to argue against casuistry of this nature, which, if it were carried to its logical conclusion, would absolutely destroy all morality, as we understand it.

• casuistry on Wikipedia.Wikipedia