dormitive principle

The repetition of a thought or idea in a more abstract way or in more complex language that does not actually provide an explanation. The idea comes from Molière's The Imaginary Invalid, in which a doctor explains that opium makes people sleepy because it has a "dormitive virtue." (The word "dormitive" describes things capable of inducing sleep.) A: "Why am I dealing with farsightedness all of a sudden?" B: "Because you have hyperopia." A: "Come on, Doc. Don't use a dormitive principle to try to 'explain' something without really saying anything at all." When your students ask questions, don't just give them a dormitive principle—that won't help them understand these complex scientific processes any better. A: "I already told you what those spots are: petechiae." B: "Well, thanks for the dormitive principle, but I've never heard the word 'petechiae' before in my life, so how am I supposed to know what it actually means? Will it kill me?"

dormitive virtue

The repetition of a thought or idea in a more abstract way or in more complex language that does not actually provide an explanation. The idea comes from Molière's The Imaginary Invalid, in which a doctor explains that opium makes people sleepy because it has a "dormitive virtue." (The word "dormitive" describes things capable of inducing sleep.) A: "Why am I dealing with farsightedness all of a sudden?" B: "Because you have hyperopia." A: "Come on, Doc. Don't use a dormitive virtue to try to 'explain' something without really saying anything at all." When your students ask questions, don't just give them a dormitive virtue—that won't help them understand these complex scientific processes any better. A: "I already told you what those spots are: petechiae." B: "Well, thanks for the dormitive virtue, but I've never heard the word 'petechiae' before in my life, so how am I supposed to know what it actually means? Will it kill me?"