Conflation
Encyclopedia
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Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
, the practice of treating two distinct concept
Concept
The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...
s as if they were one does often produce error or misunderstanding, as a fusion of distinct subjects tends to obscure analysis of relationships which are emphasized by contrasts. However, if the distinctions between two concepts appears to be superficial, intentional conflation may be desirable for the sake of conciseness.
Communication and reasoning
The result of conflating concepts may give rise to fallacies of ambiguityAmbiguity
Ambiguity of words or phrases is the ability to express more than one interpretation. It is distinct from vagueness, which is a statement about the lack of precision contained or available in the information.Context may play a role in resolving ambiguity...
, including the fallacy of four terms in a categorical syllogism
Syllogism
A syllogism is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition is inferred from two or more others of a certain form...
. For example, the word "bat" has at least two meanings: a flying animal, and a piece of sporting equipment (such as a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
bat or a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
bat). If these two meanings are not distinguished, the result may be the following categorical syllogism
Syllogism
A syllogism is a kind of logical argument in which one proposition is inferred from two or more others of a certain form...
, which may be seen as a joke (pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
):
-
- All bats are animals.
- Some wooden objects are bats.
- Therefore, some wooden objects are animals.
Conventional conflations
Selecting an illustrative example from the panorama of current events, the international press features recurring news stories about the G8G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
, which refers to a "group of eight" composed of nine members. The initial "Group of Six" has been conflated with the subsequent "Group of Seven" and today's "Group of Eight."
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
and the G7 were readily differentiated in 1998 … something unforeseen happened in the intervening years. Without being too specific about how and when these conventional terms came to have commonly accepted meanings, the fact-of-the-matter is that the most recent summit of G8 leaders which was held in Hokkaido
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Japan is identified as the "34th G8 summit
34th G8 summit
The 34th G8 summit took place in on the northern island of Hokkaidō, Japan from July 7–9, 2008. The locations of previous summits to have been hosted by Japan include: Tokyo ; and Nago, Okinawa . The G8 Summit has evolved beyond being a gathering of world political leaders...
." Furthermore, plans for an upcoming "35th G8 summit
35th G8 summit
The 35th G8 summit took place in the city of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, on July 8–10, 2009. It was moved from the Sardinian seaside city of La Maddalena as part of an attempt to redistribute disaster funds after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake.....
" in Italy and for a "36th G8 summit
36th G8 summit
The 36th G8 summit was held in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada, from June 25 to June 26, 2010. In this year's meeting, the G8 leaders agreed in reaffirming the group's essential and continuing role in international affairs...
" in Canada are widely reported in the international press and elsewhere. These ordinal numbers implicate a process of counting backwards through the years and this also requires conflating the G6 and the G7 and the G8 — deliberately ignoring that each of the terms refers to distinctly different amalgamations.
G8 members, since 1997, since 1997
G7 members, since 1977, since 1976, since 1993‡
G6 members, 1975
- ‡ European CommunitiesEuropean CommunitiesThe European Communities were three international organisations that were governed by the same set of institutions...
(EC) were reformed into the European Union (EU) as the Maastricht TreatyMaastricht TreatyThe Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
came into effect in November 1993.
Logical conflation
Conflating words with different meanings can help to clarify or it can cause real confusion. The elasticity of verb meaning in English can be illustrated by instances in which a conflation of motion is merged with manner or a conflation of causation with manner, e.g. The bride floated towards her future.In an alternate illustrative example, respect is used both in the sense of "recognise a right" and "have high regard for". We can recognise someone's right to the opinion that the United Nations is secretly controlled by alien lizards on the moon, without holding this idea in high regard. But conflation of these two different concepts leads to the notion that all ideological ideas, for example, should be treated with respect, rather than just the right to hold these ideas. Conflation in logical terms is very similar to, if not identical to, equivocation
Equivocation
Equivocation is classified as both a formal and informal logical fallacy. It is the misleading use of a term with more than one meaning or sense...
.
Deliberate Idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
conflation is the amalgamation of two different expressions. In most cases, the combination results in a new expression that makes little sense literally, but clearly expresses an idea because it references well-known idioms. All conflations fit into one of two major categories: "congruent" conflations and "incongruent" conflations.
Congruent conflations
Congruent conflations are the more ideal, and more sought-after, examples of the concept. These occur when the two root expressions reflect similar thoughts. For example, "look who's calling the kettle black" can be formed using the root expressions "look who's talking" and "the pot calling the kettle blackPot calling the kettle black
The phrase "The pot calling the kettle black" is an idiom used to accuse a person of being guilty of the very thing of which they accuse another. This may or may not be hypocritical or a contradiction.-Alternative interpretation:...
." These root expressions really mean the same thing: they are both a friendly way to point out hypocritical behavior. Of course, "Look who's calling the kettle black" does not directly imply anything, yet the implication is understood because the conflation clearly refers to two known idioms.
An illustrative conflation brings together two Roman Catholic saints named Lazarus. One, a lame beggar covered with sores which dogs are licking, appears in a Biblical New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
story at Luke 16:19–31. The other, Lazarus of Bethany, is identified in John 11:41–44 as the man whom Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
raised from the dead. The beggar's Feast Day is June 21, and Lazarus of Bethany's day is December 17. However, both saints are depicted with crutches, and the blessing of dogs (associated with the beggar saint) usually takes place on December 17, the date associated with the resurrected Lazarus. The two characters' identities have become conflated in most cultural contexts, including the iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
of both saints.
Incongruent conflations
Incongruent conflation occurs when the root expressions do not mean the same thing, but share a common word or theme. For example, "a bull in a candy store" can be formed from the root expressions "a kid in a candy store" and "a bull in a china shop." The former root expression paints a picture of someone who is extraordinarily happy and excited, whereas the latter root brings to mind the image of a person who is extremely clumsyClumsy
- Behaviour :*Accident-proneness, the likelihood that certain people suffer accidents*Dyspraxia, a disorder which brings about clumsiness*A euphemism for someone with Motor skills disorder- Music :...
. The conflation expresses both of these ideas at the same time without making the speaker's intention entirely clear.
An illustrative conflation seems to merge disparate figures as in Santería
Santería
Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
. St. Lazarus is conflated with the Yoruba deity
Orisha
An Orisha is a spirit or deity that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare in the Yoruba spiritual or religious system....
Babalu Aye
Babalu Aye
In the religious system of Orisha worship, Babalú-Ayé is the praise name of the spirit of the Earth and strongly associated with infectious disease, and healing. He is an Orisha, representing the deity Olorun on Earth...
, and celebrated on December 17, despite Santería's reliance on the iconography associated with the begging saint whose Feast Day is June 21. By blending the identity of the two conflated St. Lazarus individuals with the identity of the Babalu Aye, Santería has gone one step further than the conflation within Catholicism, to become the kind of religious conflation known as syncretism, in which deities or concepts from two different faiths are conflated to form a third.
Humorous conflations
Idiom conflation has been used as a source of humor in certain situations. For example, the Mexican character El Chapulín ColoradoEl Chapulín Colorado
El Chapulín Colorado is a television series, created and played by Roberto Gómez Bolaños, also known as Chespirito, a successful Mexican comedian and TV show producer, which parodied superhero shows...
once said
- "Mas vale pájaro en mano que dios lo ayudará...no, no...Dios ayuda al que vuela como pájaro...no... bueno, la idea es esa."
meaning
- "A bird in the hand will get the worm...no, wait...The early bird is worth two in the bush...no... well, that's the idea."
by combining two popular expressions:
- "Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando" ("A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.")
- "Al que madruga Dios lo ayuda" ("The early bird gets the worm.")
This was typical of the character, and he did it with several other expressions over the course of his comedy routine.
In popular culture, identities are sometimes intentionally conflated. In the early 2000s, the popular American actors Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
and Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
were dating, and the tabloid
Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...
press referred to them playfully as a third entity, Bennifer. As this is not a religious concept, it is an example only of conflation, not of syncretism. The way the names were combined is an example of portmanteau.
See also
- Amalgamation (names)Amalgamation (names)An amalgamated name is a name that is formed by combining several previously existing names. These may take the form of an acronym or a blend ....
- EssentialismEssentialismIn philosophy, essentialism is the view that, for any specific kind of entity, there is a set of characteristics or properties all of which any entity of that kind must possess. Therefore all things can be precisely defined or described...
- Portmanteau
- Stemming algorithm
- SyncretismSyncretismSyncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...