Semantic Conflation

Semantic Conflation happens when the same words are used for different concepts. A really common example is when spiritually-minded people talk about "energy" and "vibration" as metaphors to refer to things that they really do experience -- for example, a feeling; an intuition; or some ways in which different parts of the universe are connected -- but then are immediately laughed down by people who subscribe to Scientism. You can't use "energy" in the scientific sense to refer to "energy" in the spiritual sense -- the two are not the same! Semantic Conflation has occurred!