Polemic

Polemic(/pəˈlɛmɪk/pə-LEHM-ick,USalso/-ˈlimɪk/-⁠LEEM-ick) is contentiousrhetoricintended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is calledpolemics,which are seen in arguments on controversial topics. A person who writes polemics, or speaks polemically, is called apolemicist.^[1]The word derives fromAncient Greekπολεμικός (polemikos)'warlike, hostile',^[1]^[2]fromπόλεμος (polemos)'war'.^[3]

Polemics often concern questions in religion or politics. A polemical style of writing was common inAncient Greece,as in the writings of the historianPolybius.Polemic again became common inmedievalandearly moderntimes. Since then, famous polemicists have included satiristJonathan Swift,Italian physicist and mathematicianGalileo,French theologianJean Calvin,French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopherVoltaire,Russian authorLeo Tolstoy,socialist philosophersKarl MarxandFriedrich Engels,novelistGeorge Orwell,playwrightGeorge Bernard Shaw,communist revolutionaryVladimir Lenin,linguist Noam Chomsky,social criticsChristopher HitchensandPeter Hitchens,and existential philosophersSøren KierkegaardandFriedrich Nietzsche.

Polemical journalism was common incontinental Europewhenlibellaws were not as stringent as they are now.^[4]To support study of 17th to 19th century controversies, a British research project has placed online thousands of polemical pamphlets from that period.^[5]Discussions ofatheism,humanism,and Christianity have remained open to polemic into the 21st century.

History

InAncient Greece,writing was characterised by what Geoffrey Lloyd andNathan Sivincalled "strident adversariality" and "rationalistic aggressiveness", summed up by McClinton as polemic.^[6]^[7]For example, the ancient historianPolybiuspracticed "quite bitter self-righteous polemic" against some twenty philosophers, orators, and historians.^[8]

Polemical writings were common inmedievalandearly moderntimes.^[9]During the Middle Ages, polemic had a religious dimension, as inJewish texts written to protect and dissuade Jewish communities from converting to other religions.^[10]Medieval Christian writingswere also often polemical; for example in their disagreements on Islam^[11]or in the vast corpus aimed at converting the Jews.^[12]^[13]Martin Luther's95 Theseswas a polemic launched against the Catholic Church.^[6]^{[note 1]}Robert Carliell's 1619 defence of the newChurch of Englandand diatribe against theRoman Catholic Church–Britaine's glorie, or An allegoricall dreame with the exposition thereof: containing The Heathens infidelitie in religion...– took the form of a 250-line poem.^[14]

Major political polemicists of the 18th century includeJonathan Swift,with pamphlets such as hisA Modest Proposal,Alexander Hamilton,with pieces such asA Full Vindication of the Measures of CongressandA Farmer Refuted,andEdmund Burke,with his attack on theDuke of Bedford.^[15]

In the 19th century,Karl MarxandFriedrich Engels's 1848Communist Manifestowas extremely polemical.^[6]Both Marx and Engels would publish further polemical works, with Engels's workAnti-Dühringserving as a polemic againstEugen Dühring,and Marx'sCritique of the Gotha ProgrammeagainstFerdinand Lasalle.

Vladimir Leninpublished polemics against political opponents.The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautskywas notably directed againstKarl Kautsky,and other works such asThe State and Revolutionattacked figures includingEduard Bernstein.

In the 20th century,George Orwell'sAnimal Farmwas a polemic againsttotalitarianism,in particular ofStalinismin theSoviet Union.According to McClinton, other prominent polemicists of the same century include such diverse figures asHerbert Marcuse,Noam Chomsky,John Pilger,andMichael Moore.^[6]

In 2007 Brian McClinton argued inHumanithat anti-religious books such asRichard Dawkins'sThe God Delusionare part of the polemic tradition.^[6]In 2008 the humanist philosopherA. C. Graylingpublished a book,Against All Gods: Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness.^[16]

Notes

^The story of Luther nailing his Theses to the church door has been doubted. See references inMartin Luther#Start of the Reformation– "the story of the posting on the door... has little foundation in truth."

References

^^a ^b"polemic"(s.v.).Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.Springfield, MA:Merriam-Webster. 2005.
^American College Dictionary.New York: Random House.
^Henry George Liddell;Robert Scott."πόλεμος".A Greek-English Lexicon.on Perseus.
^polemic, or polemical literature, or polemics (rhetoric).britannica.com. Archived fromthe originalon 11 April 2008.Retrieved21 February2008.
^"Rare books collections: Hay Fleming Collection".St Andrews University Library.Retrieved16 March2022.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eMcClinton, Brian (July 2007)."A Defence of Polemics"(PDF).Humani(105): 12–13. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 22 March 2016.
^Lloyd, Geoffrey; Sivin, Nathan (2002).The Way and the Word: Science and Medicine in Early China and Greece.Yale University Press.ISBN 978-0-300-10160-7.
^Walbank, F. W. (1962). "Polemic in Polybius".The Journal of Roman Studies.52(Parts 1 and 2): 1–12.doi:10.2307/297872.JSTOR 297872.S2CID 153936734.
^Suerbaum, Almut; Southcombe, George (2016).Polemic: Language as Violence in Medieval and Early Modern Discourse.Taylor & Francis.ISBN 978-1-317-07929-3.
^Chazan, Robert (2004).Fashioning Jewish identity in medieval western Christendom.Cambridge University Press. p. 7.
^Tolan, John Victor (2000).Medieval Christian perceptions of Islam.Routledge. p. 420.
^Bobichon, Philippe (2012)."Littérature de controverse entre judaïsme et christianisme: Description du corpus et réflexions méthodologiques (IIe-XVIe siècle ») (textes grecs, latins et hébreux)]".Revue d'Histoire ecclésiastique.107(1): 5–48.doi:10.1484/J.RHE.1.102664.
^Bobichon, Philippe (2018). S. Chandra (ed.)."Is Violence intrinsic to religious confrontation? The case of Judeo-Christian controversy, second to seventeenth century".Violence and Non-violence Across Times. History, Religion and Culture.Routledge: 33–52.doi:10.4324/9780429466205-3.
^Lee, Sidney (2004)."Carleill, Robert (fl. 1619)".In Reavley Gair (ed.).Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4680.Retrieved27 May2017.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
^Paulin, Tom (26 March 1995)."The Art of Criticism: 12 Polemic".The Independent.Retrieved6 November2016.
^Grayling, A. C. (2008).Against All Gods: Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness.Oberon Books.ISBN 978-1-840-02728-0.

Bibliography

Gallop, Jane (2004).Polemic: Critical or Uncritical(1 ed.). New York: Routledge.ISBN 0-415-97228-0.
Hawthorn, Jeremy (1987).Propaganda, Persuasion and Polemic.Hodder Arnold.ISBN 0-7131-6497-2.
Lander, Jesse M. (2006).Inventing Polemic: Religion, Print, and Literary Culture in Early Modern England.Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0-521-83854-1.

External links

Quotations related toPolemicat Wikiquote

[14] The story of Luther nailing his Theses to the church door has been doubted. See references inMartin Luther#Start of the Reformation– "the story of the posting on the door... has little foundation in truth."

[auto-1] "polemic"(s.v.).Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.Springfield, MA:Merriam-Webster. 2005.

[2] American College Dictionary.New York: Random House.

[3] Henry George Liddell;Robert Scott."πόλεμος".A Greek-English Lexicon.on Perseus.

[4] polemic, or polemical literature, or polemics (rhetoric).britannica.com. Archived fromthe originalon 11 April 2008.Retrieved21 February2008.

[5] "Rare books collections: Hay Fleming Collection".St Andrews University Library.Retrieved16 March2022.

[McClinton-6] McClinton, Brian (July 2007)."A Defence of Polemics"(PDF).Humani(105): 12–13. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 22 March 2016.

[7] Lloyd, Geoffrey; Sivin, Nathan (2002).The Way and the Word: Science and Medicine in Early China and Greece.Yale University Press.ISBN 978-0-300-10160-7.

[Walbank-8] Walbank, F. W. (1962). "Polemic in Polybius".The Journal of Roman Studies.52(Parts 1 and 2): 1–12.doi:10.2307/297872.JSTOR 297872.S2CID 153936734.

[Suerbaum-9] Suerbaum, Almut; Southcombe, George (2016).Polemic: Language as Violence in Medieval and Early Modern Discourse.Taylor & Francis.ISBN 978-1-317-07929-3.

[10] Chazan, Robert (2004).Fashioning Jewish identity in medieval western Christendom.Cambridge University Press. p. 7.

[11] Tolan, John Victor (2000).Medieval Christian perceptions of Islam.Routledge. p. 420.

[12] Bobichon, Philippe (2012)."Littérature de controverse entre judaïsme et christianisme: Description du corpus et réflexions méthodologiques (IIe-XVIe siècle ») (textes grecs, latins et hébreux)]".Revue d'Histoire ecclésiastique.107(1): 5–48.doi:10.1484/J.RHE.1.102664.

[13] Bobichon, Philippe (2018). S. Chandra (ed.)."Is Violence intrinsic to religious confrontation? The case of Judeo-Christian controversy, second to seventeenth century".Violence and Non-violence Across Times. History, Religion and Culture.Routledge: 33–52.doi:10.4324/9780429466205-3.

[15] Lee, Sidney (2004)."Carleill, Robert (fl. 1619)".In Reavley Gair (ed.).Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4680.Retrieved27 May2017.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)

[Indie-16] Paulin, Tom (26 March 1995)."The Art of Criticism: 12 Polemic".The Independent.Retrieved6 November2016.

[17] Grayling, A. C. (2008).Against All Gods: Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness.Oberon Books.ISBN 978-1-840-02728-0.

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