Hasty Logic

Applying formal or informal logical rules too quickly, without proper examination of the premises or context, leading to a technically structured but fundamentally unsound conclusion. It’s jumping to a logical deduction without checking if the ground you’re jumping from is stable.

Example: "His hasty logic was painful: 'The contract says I can't disclose company secrets. You asked me about my weekend. My weekend is a company secret. Therefore, I cannot speak.' He followed a syllogism off a cliff because he hastily accepted the absurd premise that his private life was owned by the firm."

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Sweeping Logic

Using a single logical principle or rule to explain or dismiss a vast array of complex, disparate phenomena. It’s the over-application of a neat logical model to a messy world, like trying to use only Newtonian physics to describe love, economics, and quantum mechanics.

Example: "She used sweeping logic to dismiss all activism: 'Every movement claims moral superiority. Claiming moral superiority is a psychological power play. Therefore, all activism is just about power.' She swept the unique histories, goals, and contexts of countless movements into one reductive, logical dustpan."

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

General Logic

The attempt to apply a broadly accepted logical framework (like deductive reasoning) to a situation where the premises are too vague, subjective, or contested for the logic to yield a reliable conclusion. It’s using a good tool on the wrong material.

Example: "His general logic sounded solid: 'All birds have feathers. A penguin is a bird. Therefore, penguins can fly.' The logic was formally valid, but the general understanding of 'bird' he relied on was flawed for this specific case, making the conclusion famously wrong."

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Special Logic

Creating a unique, ad-hoc, or personalized set of logical rules to defend a predetermined conclusion, especially when applied to a special case dear to the arguer. This logic often contradicts the general logic they apply to everything else and is immune to standard counter-argument.

Example: "He deployed special logic for his favorite politician: 'Sure, taking undisclosed money is corruption for others, but for him, it's just building pragmatic relationships to get things done for people like us.' The rules of cause, effect, and ethics were specially rewritten for that one person."

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Logic Blind Spot

A specific failure to apply the same rigorous logical standards to your own foundational beliefs or sacred assumptions that you demand be applied to challenging ideas. You can deconstruct an opponent's position with syllogistic precision, but the core axioms of your own worldview—your political ideology, religious faith, or personal philosophy—exist in a protected, logic-free zone where they are accepted as "self-evident" or "beyond mere logic."

Example: "The philosopher could dissect the logical inconsistencies of utilitarianism for hours. But ask him to logically justify his core belief in absolute free will, and he'd retreat into murky appeals to 'conscious experience.' That was his logic blind spot: a dazzling searchlight turned outward, and a cozy, uncritical candle burning for his own foundations."

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Self-Serving Logic

The craft of constructing logical-sounding arguments with the sole purpose of arriving at a conclusion that serves your interests, using logic not as a tool for discovery but as a weapon for justification. You start with the desired endpoint ("I am correct/I deserve this") and work backwards, selecting only the premises and logical rules that build a path to that end, discarding any that lead elsewhere.

Example: "His self-serving logic for taking the last slice of pizza: 'I paid more into the tip. The person who contributes more to the communal fund has earned a greater share of the communal resource. This is basic distributive justice. Also, I'm still growing.' He'd used a twisted form of contractual logic to justify his gluttony."

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Bending Logic

The deliberate, often sneaky, distortion of logical rules and structures to make an invalid argument appear valid. This involves misapplying logical operators, creating false dichotomies, using equivocation (changing the meaning of a word mid-argument), or crafting syllogisms with hidden, untrue premises. It's not being bad at logic; it's being a con artist with logic as your prop.

Example: "He defended his conspiracy theory by bending logic: 'Either you believe the official report, or you seek the truth. You're criticizing my search for truth. Therefore, you must believe the official report.' He'd bent a complex situation into a forced binary choice, making skepticism look like blind faith."

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026