Fallacy of Logification

The more formal and structurally deceptive cousin of rationalization. This fallacy involves constructing a rigid, self-contained logical framework—complete with axioms, definitions, and syllogisms—to systematically defend barbarism, injustice, or civilizational regression. Where rationalization makes excuses, logification builds a pseudo-philosophical system. It uses the tools of logic (deduction, categorization, consistency) but begins with poisoned premises (e.g., "some races are inherently less capable," "autocracy is more efficient") or willfully ignores vast human costs as "externalities." It is logic in service of inhumanity, creating a chilling, academic-sounding defense of the unthinkable.

Example: A Fallacy of Logification would be a tightly-argued essay "proving" the necessity of slavery using economic models that define human beings as capital assets, demographic theories about societal stability, and philosophical appeals to a "natural hierarchy." The logic is internally consistent within its own warped frame, but the frame itself is morally bankrupt. It uses the form of reasoned discourse to launder the content of atrocity, making evil look like an intellectual conclusion rather than a violent choice.

by Dumuabzu February 3, 2026