Look up polemics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Polemics (pronounced /pɵˈlɛmɪks/) is the practice of disputing or controverting significant, broad-reaching topics of magnitude such as religious, philosophical, political, or scientific matters. As such, a polemic text on a topic is often written specifically to dispute or refute a position or theory that is widely viewed to be beyond reproach.

The antonym of a polemic source is an apologia.

Polemic journalism was common in continental Europe when libel laws were not as stringent.^[1] The Research Support Libraries Programme "Pamphlet and polemic: pamphlets as a guide to the controversies of the 17th-19th centuries", co-managed by the University of St. Andrews, the University of Aberdeen, and University of Wales Lampeter, collected and placed thousands of pamphlets on-line as a study of polemic rhetoric of that era.^[2] There are other meanings of the word as well. Polemic is also a branch of theology, pertaining to the history or conduct of ecclesiastical controversy.^[3]

The word is derived from the Greek word polemikos (πολεμικος), which means "warlike," "hostile".^[4] Plato uses a character named Polemarchus in his dialogue Republic as a vehicle to drive forward an ethical debate.

[edit] See also

• Apologia
• Conversational intolerance
• Devil's advocate
• Philippic
• Social gadfly

[edit] References

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