Excerpt From
Plutarch, “Plutarch’s Morals”

Surpassing even this already telling commendation is the related warrant to avoid complicating thinking, a neat distinction between complication and obfuscation. There are many reasons to promote either philosophy; but, not unlike engaging in law suit, the anger inspired by it is seldom worth the effort. By making the preferred choice we succeed to improve our lives. Merely because one party has the appearance of advantage doesn’t of necessity imply it is a winning behaviour to adopt. Retreat from a falling tree is no less strategic than chopping it down but often less burdensome.

Great question—this is a subtle but important distinction.

Short version:

• Complication is about difficulty that arises from the subject itself.

• Obfuscation is about difficulty that’s introduced by the communicator.

Here’s a clearer breakdown.

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Complication

Complication is ontological or structural: the thing itself has many parts, layers, or interdependencies.

Philosophically, complication is often unavoidable:

• Reality, systems, or ideas can genuinely be complex.

• Any honest explanation will reflect that complexity.

• Difficulty here is a cost of accuracy.

Examples:

• Quantum mechanics is complicated because the phenomena are counterintuitive.

• Ethics is complicated because values can conflict.

• A long proof may be complicated because the conclusion genuinely depends on many steps.

Importantly, complication respects the reader: it assumes clarity is desirable even if simplicity isn’t possible.

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Obfuscation

Obfuscation is epistemic and rhetorical: the difficulty is added, not inherent.

Philosophically, obfuscation is about power over understanding:

• It hides meaning rather than revealing it.

• It often serves motives like authority, protection, manipulation, or avoidance of scrutiny.

• It can be intentional or habitual, but it’s always avoidable.

Examples:

• Using jargon where plain language would work.

• Overly convoluted sentences to appear profound.

• Burying weak arguments under dense formalism.

• Legal or bureaucratic language designed to discourage comprehension.

Obfuscation resists understanding, even when understanding is possible.

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The Core Philosophical Difference

At bottom, the difference is about orientation toward truth:

• Complication says:
  “This is hard because the world is hard.”

• Obfuscation says:
  “This is hard because I’ve made it hard.”

Or more sharply:

• Complication aims at fidelity to reality.

• Obfuscation aims at control of interpretation.

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A Useful Test

A practical philosophical test is this:

If you tried hard to make this clearer without losing accuracy, could you?

• If no, you’re dealing with complication.

• If yes, but it wasn’t done, you’re dealing with obfuscation.