dormitive principle

Etymology
A modern translation of, , coined by Molière in The Imaginary Invalid (1673). In the play, he lampoons a group of physicians providing an explanation in macaronic Latin of the sleep-inducing properties of opium as stemming from its "virtus dormitiva". The currency of this phrase as a critique of scientific claims is due to Gregory Bateson (1976, Steps to an Ecology of Mind p. 5), as is the translation of virtus as 'principle'.

Noun

 * 1)  A type of tautology in which an item is explained in terms of the item itself, only put in different (usually more abstract) words.

Translations

 * Finnish: virtus dormitiva
 * Latin: virtus dormitiva
 * Portuguese: princípio dormitivo
 * Russian: снотво́рный при́нцип