reductio ad absurdum

1. a form of valid logical argument in which either (a) a premise is disproved by showing that it leads to a contradiction and is thus absurd or (b) a premise is indirectly proved by showing that its negation leads to a contradiction and is thus absurd.

2. in general language, a persuasive technique in which a position is presented in its most extreme or absurd form in order to discredit it. Such a move belongs more to sophistry than to logic. [Latin, literally: “reduction to the absurd”]

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Psychology term of the day

October 5th 2024

holding environment

1. in the object relations theory of British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott (1896–1971), that aspect of the mother experienced by the infant as the environment that literally—and figuratively, by demonstrating highly focused attention and concern—holds him or her comfortingly during calm states. This is in contrast to the mother who is experienced as the object of the infant’s excited states.

2. in psychoanalysis, any therapeutic space that allows an emotionally fragile or insecure person to deal with affects that might potentially be overwhelming.