English Explanatory Dictionary

category mistake

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A semantic or ontological error by which a property (or category) is ascribed to a thing that could not possibly have that property.

Word forms

category mistake category mistakes category-mistake

Etymology

Popularized by philosopher Gilbert Ryle in The Concept of Mind (1949), where it is applied to the notion of a ghost in the machine.

Synonyms

category error
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