ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The fallacy of equivocation occurs when a key term or phrase in an argument is used in an ambiguous way, with one meaning in one portion of the argument and then another meaning in another portion of the argument.

Detailed explanation-2: -Equivocation is nonstraightforward communication; it appears ambiguous, contradictory, tangential, obscure, or even evasive. Such messages were first studied (as “disqualification") by the Palo Alto Group, who sought an explanation in the speaker’s communicative situation.

Detailed explanation-3: -Equivocation (information theory), measures the amount of information that is contained in a random variable or other unknown quantity, given the knowledge over another random variable.

Detailed explanation-4: -Equivocation allows the writer or speaker to avoid making a firm commitment to any particular position, which is a useful – though very deceptive – way of avoiding counterarguments or hard questions. In formal arguments, equivocation can be used to make a deceptively persuasive argument.

Detailed explanation-5: -Equivocation is the deliberate use of vague or ambiguous language, with the intent of deceiving others or avoiding commitment to a specific stance. For example, when a person is asked a direct yes-or-no question, and gives a vague response that doesn’t answer the question, that person is equivocating.