Sunday, January 11, 2015

Sophistry

Sophistry - [sof-uh-stree] n. Reasoning that appears sound but is misleading or fallacious.
Sophistry is a great word.  I want to make this word  popular.

Sophistry possesses the gravitas missing from its famous yourger brother truthiness.  I am particularly enamored of the word sophistry, not only for its meaning, but also because of its assonance with bigotry and dishonesty.  I now have a new and improved BDS slogan - Bigotry, Dishonesty, Sophistry. But it only works if people know the word.

On the other hand, actual sophistry is not very nice at all. It is difficult to identify, making it effective. The arguments presented supporting BDS are filled with sophistry.  The logic is so convoluted it makes my head hurt. The wrong and incomplete information makes my blood boil.  Even though written by people with high academic degrees, it is still sophistry.

Sophistry must be identified to be countered. The essay collection The Case Against Academic Boycotts of Israel edited by Cary Nelson and Gabriel Noah Brahm exposes the many sophistries currently being promoted in academia against Israel and Zionism.  It is time to delegitimize the delegitimizers.