The Masked Man Fallacy

The Masked Man Fallacy

The Masked Man Fallacy or Illicit and identical substitution consists of replacing one name with another that represents the same thing, in a context in which such substitution actually changes the meaning of the statement… for example:

Oedipus wants to marry Jocasta, Jocasta is the mother of Oedipus, Therefore, Oedipus wants to marry his mother

At first glance it seems valid, but it happens that Oedipus DOES NOT KNOW that Jocasta is his mother… from many points of view, it is not the same thing that Oedipus wants to marry Jocasta knowing that she is his mother or not knowing it! the meaning of the last statement has a different meaning depending on the context… we speak of transparent or opaque referential contexts .-