Polemic: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 00:37, 2 May 2010
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A polemic (Template:Pron-en) is a variety of argument or controversy made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion. The word is derived from the Greek polemikos (πολεμικός), meaning "warlike, hostile".[1]
Overview
A polemic is a form of dispute, wherein the main efforts of the disputing parties are aimed at establishing their own point of view regarding an issue. Along with debate, polemic is one of the more common forms of dispute. Similar to debate, it is constrained by a definite thesis which serves as the subject of controversy. However, unlike debate, which seeks a common ground between two parties, polemic is based on establishing a single point of view.
Polemic usually addresses serious matters of religious, philosophical, political, or scientific importance, and is often written to dispute or refute a widely accepted position.
History
Polemic journalism was common in continental Europe, when libel laws were not as stringent.[2]
To support study of the polemics and controversies of the 17th-19th centuries, a British research project has placed thousands of pamphlets of that era online.[3]
Theology
Polemic Theology is the branch of theological argument devoted to the history or conduct of controversy on religious matters.[4] As such, it is distinguished from apologetics, the intellectual defense of faith.
Noted polemicists
One of the most famous polemicists was the Frenchman Voltaire, along with other classic English-language polemicists such as Jonathan Swift, Thomas Paine, Oscar Wilde and Ambrose Bierce. Contemporary polemicists include Ivan Illich, and American polemicists the writer and director Michael Moore, the linguist Noam Chomsky, historian Howard Zinn (recently deceased) and new media journalist Max Keiser. It should be noted that the title of Polemic entitles its holder to a certain degree of respect, it infers the person is an informed critic of social and political issues with substantiated, and legitimate, arguments. The modern Polemic is concerned far more with the scholastic than with the commercial. Martin Luther's "The Bondage of the Will" was a polemic, written against and in answer to the Diatribe of Erasmus On Free-Will...
Further reading
- Gallop, Jane (2004). Polemic: Critical or Uncritical (1 ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 0415972280.
- Hawthorn, Jeremy (1987). Propaganda, Persuasion and Polemic. Hodder Arnold. ISBN 0713164972.
- Lander, Jesse M. (2006). Inventing Polemic: Religion, Print, and Literary Culture in Early Modern England. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521838541.
See also
References
- ^ Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 2005), s.v. "polemic"
- ^ polemic, or polemical literature, or polemics (rhetoric). britannica.com. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ "Pamphlet and polemic: Pamphlets as a guide to the controversies of the 17th-19th centuries". St Andrews University Library. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ Nicole, Roger R. (Summer 1998). "Polemic Theology: How to Deal with Those Who Differ from Us". The Founders Journal (33). Retrieved 2008-02-21.
