Casuistiske

Casuistiske is a term used in Norwegian and Danish to describe reasoning or argumentation that relies on casuistry. It characterizes approaches that analyze concrete cases and compare them to established norms to decide what is permissible, obligatory, or forbidden, rather than applying universal rules in a straightforward way. In everyday language, casuistiske can carry a pejorative sense, indicating excessive attention to fine distinctions or opportunistic rationalization of outcomes.

Originating from the Latin casus meaning "case," casuistry is a method of problem solving based on particular cases. The adjective casuistisk or casuistiske derives from this noun and is used to describe such methods or attitudes.

In philosophy, ethics, theology, and law, casuistic reasoning weighs the specifics of a case, such as intentions, circumstances, and mitigating factors, against general norms. It can illuminate how general principles apply in practice but can also drift toward arguing for outcomes by fine-grained distinctions rather than principle.

Historically, casuistry was developed in Catholic moral theology and later appeared in secular ethics and legal practice. It has been both celebrated as a practical tool for resolving difficult cases and criticized as evasive or manipulative. Contemporary discussions often view casuistry alongside principlism and virtue-based approaches, sometimes reclaiming it as a legitimate case-based method when reasoning is transparent and well-argued. In everyday usage, casuistiske describes a style of argumentation or thinking that favors case-by-case analysis over broad, universal claims.