[Peace-discuss] polemics & sophisms

[Szoke, Ron]

Keywords  110718
A review of some terms useful in political analysis & polemics

po·lem·ics  (pə-lĕm′ĭks)
n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
1. The art or practice of argumentation or controversy.
2. The practice of theological controversy to refute errors of doctrine.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

polemics (pəˈlɛmɪks)
n (functioning as singular) the art or practice of dispute or argument, as in attacking or defending a doctrine or belief
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

po•lem•ics (pəˈlɛm ɪks, poʊ-)
n. (used with a sing. v.)
1. the art or practice of disputation or controversy.
2. the branch of theology dealing with ecclesiastical disputation and controversy.  [1630–40]
A polemic (/pəˈlɛmɪk/) is contentious rhetoric<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Rhetoric> that is intended to support a specific position by aggressive claims and undermining of the opposing position. Polemics are mostly seen in arguments about controversial topics. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics. A person who ofte writes polemics, or who speaks polemically, is called a polemicist.[1]<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Polemy#cite_note-auto-1> The word is derived from Greek<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Greek+language> πολεμικός (polemikos), meaning 'warlike, hostile',[1]<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Polemy#cite_note-auto-1>[2]<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Polemy#cite_note-2> from πόλεμος (polemos), meaning 'war'.[3]<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Polemy#cite_note-3>
Polemics often concern issues in religion<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Religion> or politics<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Politics>. A polemic style of writing was common in Ancient Greece<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Ancient+Greece>, as in the writings of the historian Polybius<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Polybius>. Polemic again became common in medieval<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Medieval> and early modern times. Since then, famous polemicists have included the satirist Jonathan Swift<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Jonathan+Swift>, the socialist philosophers Karl Marx<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Karl+Marx> and Friedrich Engels<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Friedrich+Engels>, the novelist George Orwell<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/George+Orwell> and the linguist Noam Chomsky<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Noam+Chomsky>.

Overview
Polemics are usually addressed to important issues in religion<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Religion> and politics<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Politics>. Polemic journalism was common in continental Europe<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Continental+Europe> at a time when libel<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Libel> laws were not as stringent as they are now.[4]<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Polemy#cite_note-4> To support the study of the controversies of the 17th–19th centuries, a British research project has placed online thousands of polemical pamphlets from that era.[5]<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Polemy#cite_note-5> Discussions around atheism<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Atheism>, humanism<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Humanism> and Christianity have remained capable of polemic into modern times; for example, in 2007 Brian McClinton argued in Humani that anti-religious books like Richard Dawkins<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Richard+Dawkins>'s The God Delusion<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/The+God+Delusion> are part of the polemic tradition.[6]<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Polemy#cite_note-McClinton-6> The humanist philosopher A. C. Grayling<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/A.+C.+Grayling> indeed published a book titled Against All Gods: Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness in 2008.[7]<https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Polemy#cite_note-7>

soph·is·try  (sŏf′ĭ-strē)
n. pl. soph·is·tries
1. Plausible but fallacious argumentation.
2. A plausible but misleading or fallacious argument.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sophistry (ˈsɒfɪstrɪ)
n, pl -ries
1. (Philosophy)
a. a method of argument that is seemingly plausible though actually invalid and misleading
b. the art of using such arguments
2. subtle but unsound or fallacious reasoning
3. an instance of this; sophism
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

— from the  online Free Dictionary by Farlex  (q.v.)

Exercise:  Distinguish clearly between fallacies & sophisms.

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