VI.   Argument

An Absurdity is a Result or Conclusion extremely unreasonable so as to be foolish and not to be taken seriously. In reasoning, it is the opposite of seriousness.

Reductio ad absurdum, meaning “reduction to the absurd” is a form of argument in which a proposition is disproved by following its implications logically to an absurd consequence.

Proof by contradiction is a method of argument whereby a proposition is proven true by proving that it is impossible for it to be false. For example, if A is false, then B is also false; but B is true,therefore A cannot be false and therefore A is true. In practice (outside of mathematics) such arguments are frequently premised on a false dichotomy making the ostensible proof a logical fallacy.