Polemical Discourse Research Articles

Der diatribische Stil bei Kosmas dem Presbyter und Grigorij Camblak

The diatribe is a mode of exposition that grew out of the teaching of the popular philosophers of the Hellenistic and Roman period. It was adopted by St. Paul in his epistles and by the Church Fathers, first of all by John Chrysostom. In a diatribe, the author presents his thoughts in the form of an argumentative dialogue with an imaginary interlocutor; moreover, this dialogue is not narrated, but acted out, the author speaking both on behalf of himself and his opponent. Some characteristic features of the diatribe are the frequent use of the parenthetical φησί ‘says (the imaginary opponent)’, the formulas τί οὖν ‘what then?’ (to introduce a false conclusion) and μὴ γένοιτο ‘far be it from me’ (to reject it), questions such as asὁρᾷς ‘don’t you see?’ and vocatives such as ἄνθρωπε ‘man’. 
 The diatribe entered medieval Orthodox Slavic writing through the translations of the New Testament and the Church fathers. This paper examines the impact of the diatribe on original texts written by two of the most prominent authors of the Slavic Middle Ages: Kosmas the Presbyter and Grigorij Camblak. 
 Kosmas the Presbyter wrote his Sermon Against the Newly-Appeared Heresy of Bogomil in the second half of the 10th century. This work combines a pedagogical (instruction to the believers) with a polemical layer (refutation of the “heretics”). In a handful of passages, the transition from the first to the second layer exhibits the typical features of diatribe: Kosmas introduces a counterargument by the imaginary opponent by parenthetical рече (φησί) and then addresses this opponent directly in order to refute him. Most of the time, however, the transition from the pedagogical to the polemical layer is less smooth. All in all, Kosmas’s diatribal style does not reach the smoothness of his Chrysostomic models. 
 Grigorij Camblak is the author of a number of homilies that he delivered in the late 14th-early 15th century. Seven of the published homilies attributed to him show a variety of diatribal formulas, which are investigated in more detail. Their function in the polemical discourse is compared to that of the original Hellenistic, Biblical and Patristic diatribal formulas in Greek. Grigorij Camblak’s spontaneous use of these formulas in his original Slavic compositions shows that he internalized the polemical and didactic strategies of the diatribe and found ways to express its functions in Slavic. Some of his homilies indeed approach or even equal the level of Chrysostom’s diatribal style.

Ethnographic writing in the kingdom of Jerusalem: in search of a neglected intellectual tradition

ABSTRACT It has been argued in recent years that Western ethnographic curiosity and writing grew significantly during the late medieval period. Surprisingly, the Latin East has remained almost completely neglected within this scholarly context. The present paper aims to fill this lacuna by exploring a discourse within the kingdom of Jerusalem which focused on customs and ways of life of non-Latins and which was based on observation rather than hearsay and stereotypes. The paper traces the beginnings of this tradition and follows its development, shedding light on the figures and milieus involved as well as on its innovativeness and richness. It also explores the complex relations between this discourse and some of the earliest Latin works about the Mongols. The picture that emerges is of a society which did not lack in ethnographic curiosity, and where knowledge of other cultures was not always dominated by, or harnessed to, a polemical discourse.

METAPHYSICAL FOUNDATIONS IN THE POLEMICAL VERSE COMPLEX OF THE 1580—90S

The aim of the paper is to justify the correlation between polemical motifs in verses and the metaphysical principle of causation. It is possible due to revealing that the mainstay of polemical discourse lies in the images by which God, as the Cause of all things, manifests His presence in the world, according to the teachings of medieval metaphysics. This gives grounds for interpreting the emotional tension of polemical discourse and its inherent figures of reduction or simplification not as an alternative to the inner metaphysical sense but only as a kind of decentralizing and translating it into the language of other circumstances or the language of personal spiritual experience. The metaphysical dimension of polemical poems correlates with the prospect of restoring their broader literary context and broader reception.
 The paper is to investigate the extent to which the structure as a choice, focused on the publication and perception of texts in certain historical circumstances, makes it possible to manifest certain metaphysical factors by causing a special nonlinear nature of interrelationship, the reverberation of individual motifs and voices between the texts, which are quite different from each other. This historical-literary and hermeneutic approaches let us observe the manifestation forms of metaphysical sense not only in relation to the literary subtext but also in terms of the development and functioning of sovereign metaphysical motifs. Interpretation of the praxis of religious life and the nature of church confrontations and heresies discloses the ‘inner’ image of the individual in the light of Christology and the Christian concept of the Word. The study of the metaphysical foundation of polemical verse complex determines general tendencies in Ukrainian poetry and their transformation in certain milieus. At the same time, it testifies to the changes and development of poetic discourse, the awareness of God’s Word, and human responsibility for the said and written.

Polemic in Greek Art and Architecture

ABSTRACT: This article argues for the existence of an artistic and architectural polemical discourse amongst the dedicatory monuments erected within the sanctuary of Delphi. With particular reference to monuments erected relating to the Persian wars of the fifth century bce, this article argues that the polemical discourse created between them focused not only on offering divergent views on the respective roles each dedicator played in the different battles, but also, more broadly and importantly, on offering conflicting understandings of how this conflict should be remembered as an event in Greek history, culture and identity.

Writing, brevity and mood in François Mauriac's Bloc-notes

Since the revolution, as we know, journalism and polemics have gone hand in hand. We owe in particular to Voltaire to have united controversy and current affairs, "hot speech". But, it is after 1789 that the speech on the political controversies passes by the newspaper. And Mauriac gives, in his Bloc-notes, a period color of an implacable accuracy. He willingly takes topical polemics as his subject. Now the polemical discourse is an emotional discourse which reveals to us a passionate Mauriac (mood of pity, joy, hatred, etc.), which underlines the spontaneous and sincere character of an ego which is indignant. This is why Bloc-notes appears as a scene that, by nature, contradicts good faith and reason. This article seeks to show how the affectivity of the author controls the discourse and that he personally engages in it to speak directly to the reader, by revealing himself, and by confessing himself. Keywords: Mauriac, Bloc-notes, writing, passion, humor, brevity.

КОММУНИКАТИВНО-КОГНИТИВНАЯ МОДЕЛЬ ПОЛЕМИЧЕСКОГО ДИСКУРСА ПЕЧАТНЫХ СМИ

Aim . The aim of this research is to build the communicative-cognitive model of the polemic discourse of the print media, within which not a simple mechanical process of messaging takes place, but rather a phenomenological space is formed with its certain structure, filled with meaning and sense. Methodology . The analysis is based on the material of problem articles from the British newspaper “The Guardian” with a total volume of 209 printed pages and the Belarusian newspaper “SB. Belarus Today” with a volume of 212 printed pages and responses to them with a total volume of 15,120 printed pages. In the work we used such research methods as discourse analysis, cognitive method, content analysis and modeling, which contribute to the description of the features of the functioning of the language as a social tool involved in the representation of mental processes and their results in the course of building a linguistic model of communication as the basis for knowledge exchange within the framework of the discourse under study. Results . The study made it possible to present the communicative-cognitive model of the polemic discourse of the print media, which has both linear and interactional aspects of communication, suggesting the presence of stages of stimulation and response in a certain context with an emphasis on the interaction of participants in the polemic discourse of the print media. Research implications . The results obtained contribute to the theory of discourse analysis, cognitive linguistics, communicative linguistics, typology etc., and can also be used in university courses on the conceptual foundations of linguistics, communication science, the print media discourse and other disciplines that have similar objects of study.

«Eternal Images» of Antiquity: Functional Analysis in the Scope of the Late 20th – Early 21st Centuries Visual Culture

Traced the desire of star artists from France, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, Russia, different generations and with fundamentally different worldview foundations of creativity, in recent decades to include antique motifs in their imaginative programs; moreover, making them the translators of individual artistic expressions reflecting socio-cultural reception. The portrayal of ancient images, on different aesthetic and worldview bases, are present in the experimental works of the modernism, in the postmodernism (which became a reflection of the collapse of the whole picture of the world observed in modern psychology, philosophy, history), are a means of actualization gender issues, the problems of the LDF community, a reflection of glamorous aesthetics, arise in examples of street art and arte-pover, elite and mass culture, etc. For the first time in many centuries, «antique» sculptures appear at city crossroads and squares, bearing signs of the formal vocabulary of new trends. Over the past more than half a century, the individual statements of artists, in an attempt to remain in the field of polemical discourse, in an effort to expand the boundaries of the norm, including the recently approved ones, took place within the framework of large-scale (it is important to be aware) conceptual projects, thematically completely based on the interpretation of the images of Antiquity, which takes place for the first time in the history of exhibition practice. Moreover, these projects sometimes seem to be milestones in the development of contemporary art

ПУРИТАНСЬКА ФІЛОСОФІЯ АМЕРИКАНСЬКОГО МИСЛИТЕЛЯ ДЖОНА КОТТОНА

The article presents a historical and philosophical study of the main philosophical ideas of the American thinker of the Puritan era, John Cotton (1585–1652). The renowned thinker worked as a priest both in England and in the American colonies. He was known as an outstanding theologian and Puritan philosopher of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The future philosopher received his education at Trinity College and Emmanuel College in Cambridge. His reputation was associated with his ability to preach and his knowledge of theology, but his views also contained a place for philosophical reflections. He was a supporter of Puritan philosophy and was opposed to Catholicism, which was reflected in his works. In addition, he opposed the Anglican Church, which he considered insufficiently separated from Catholicism. However, in his philosophy of religion, there was a desire to purify faith from unnecessary burden. His ideas and views on religion made it possible to create the Puritan movement, which placed great emphasis on personal faith and rejected many customs and rituals that were considered unnecessary. On the one hand, J. Cotton was a critic of the church institution, but on the other hand, he did not support separation from it. He maintained a balance in his views and believed that the expulsion of his ideological opponent, Roger Williams, was related to the danger of his ideas. He believed that man cannot save himself and depends on God's grace. The American thinker took part in important polemical discussions in the American colonies, where his religious philosophy determined the settlers' way of life. He was a supporter of philosophical dialogue and believed that truth arises only in dialogue.

Modeling relationship between success factors (policies) and critical success criteria (goals) for sustainable housing in developing countries

Policymakers worldwide seek to adopt sustainable housing strategies/policies to achieve sustainable development in cities and beyond. Securing such policies is more exigent in most developing economies especially in sub-Saharan Africa, considering rampant urbanization, frequent power outages, the housing unaffordability crisis and a proliferation of slum in cities. However, empirical studies on investigating the impact of policies on goals for sustainable housing are sparse. This study models the relationship between success factors and critical success criteria for sustainable housing development in Ghanaian cities. A positivist philosophical stance and deductive reasoning were adopted to conduct deterministic modelling of primary questionnaire data collected via a cross-sectional time horizon. Questionnaire data was garnered from respondents employed by regulated institutions responsible for the Ghanaian housing market. Subsequent analysis utilized partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings revealed that ‘developers enabling’ factors and ‘mixed-use development’ factors had significant impacts on sustainable housing. ‘Household-enabling’ factors, though not significant, have high performance/index value on sustainable housing. Aside their insignificant impact, land-use planning factors had low-performance value. Essentially, while pointing out the crucial factors for sustainable housing, the findings also caution policymakers on possible counterproductive policies and serve to engender wider polemic debate and discussion. Highlights Developers’ enabling success factors have a significant impact on sustainable housing. Mixed-use development success factors also have a significant impact on sustainable housing. Households’ enabling’ success factors could have rebound effects on sustainable housing. Land-use planning success factors do not have a significant impact on sustainable housing. The findings caution policy-makers on possible inefficient and counterproductive policies.

Rhétorique de la Covid-19: analyse de trois cas de paroles « infectées »

The irruption of Covid-19 in the public space has contributed to perverting or infecting speech and its commerce between social actors. By perversion or infection of speech, we mean this polemical discourse, bordering on belligerence, which confronts men, all troubled by the emerging pandemic. Speeches made in times of Covid-19 crisis are nihilistic in that they convey contempt, hatred, mistrust, suspicion or conspiracy, fear, etc. between men and nations. Three of these discourses summarize the genre here. These are the formula "the Chinese virus" of Donald Trump, the exchange between the doctors Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Cocht and the conference of the pan-Africanist leader Kemi Seba, about the vaccination against the Covid. The objective of this contribution is to analyze these three cases of socio-political discourse to highlight the conflict of their respective dialogisms.

Concordar em discordar: análise discursivo-pragmática da polémica verbal em textos de opinião sobre o Acordo Ortográfico de 1990

The main goal of this study is to analyze the construction of the polemical discourse, from a corpus composed by opinion texts concerning the Orthographic Agreement of 1990 (from now on OA90), taking into account the perspective of Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics, Rhetoric, Argumentation and Interactional Linguistics. The analysis of the corpus allows us to conclude that the speakers manipulate several strategies in the construction of their arguments, always with the intention of provoking and perpetuating the dissent.

A Gift from England: William Ames and his Polemical Discourse against Dutch Arminianism, by Takayuki Yagi

A Gift from England: William Ames and his Polemical Discourse against Dutch Arminianism, by Takayuki Yagi

Curriculum development in the higher education literature: A synthesis focusing on construction management programmes

This research first contextualises curriculum development in higher education institutions (HEIs) before focusing specifically on construction management programmes in order to engender wider polemic discourse and new insights into current provisions. The overarching epistemology adopts both interpretivist and pragmatist philosophical stances, couched within inductive reasoning, to critically analyse extant literature as a secondary data source, with each publication representing a unit of analysis. Thematic groupings of research activity are then clustered and interconnections between researchers and research themes are identified using bibliometrics. The findings illustrate that while curriculum development in HEIs has received increasing scrutiny and attention, there is a notable lack of connectivity among the studies conducted. This lack of a cohesive body of knowledge is exacerbated by the prevailing academic notion of ‘individualism and self’ vis-a-vis the ‘collective team’. This leads to an emergent working hypothesis, namely, that bespoke curriculum development occurs within an ‘every person for themselves’ mentality. Cumulatively, these issues reported upon serve to illustrate a fundamental absence of a clear agenda for curriculum development in construction management programmes. In turn, this finding underscores the urgent need for a more prominent collaborative and global community of practice to optimise future educational provisions.

Anonymus Iamblichi and Nomos: Beyond the Sophistic Discourse

Abstract The paper challenges the traditional assumption that the fragments of ‘Anonymus Iamblichi’ (Diels-Kranz 89) are best understood and interpreted against the intellectual and cultural background of the so-called ‘sophistic movement’. I begin by suggesting that we can distinguish, in the fragments, between two separate ‘discourses’ concerning nomos (‘law’) and its role in human life: an abstract ‘sophistic’ discourse, centered around the defense of nomos against the antinomian champions of natural pleonexia, and another, less abstract and more polemical discourse on nomos, which is aimed at the author’s contemporary Athens. I argue that the author’s engagement with well-known sophistic ideas is best understood as instrumental to his polemical agenda: it provides him with a powerful intellectual framework in which to articulate his criticism of democratic society, especially with regard to traditional notions of social ‘benefaction’ and the relation between rich and poor.

Der Islam-Diskurs bei Niketas von Byzanz

Abstract The article analyzes the anti-Islamic polemical discourse of Nicetas of Byzantium (9th/10th c.), one of the most important Byzantine apologists and polemicists flourishing in the intellectual-theological context of Patriarch Photios in Constantinople. This paper crystallizes the main topics of discussion in Nicetas’ Refutation of the Qur’an (Vat. gr. 681) and presents his argumentation against Islam.To structure and evaluate the wayNicetas perceives Islam, I have developed a methodology of four thematic categories (Theology, Ethics, History, Physiology) with correspondent polemical subcategories. This research approach may also serve as a paradigm enhancing further studies on other sources related to Christian-Muslim interfaith dialogue.

Religious Rivalry in the Seventeenth Century: A Buddhist–Christian Case in China

To shed new light on the place of Christianity in seventeenth-century Chinese society and the debates and conflicts between Christians and Buddhists, this paper reflects on Christians' critiques of Buddhist dogma and praxis as well as rejoinders from the Buddhists. It will focus on the sustained debates, roughly between 1590 and 1690, with regard to the relative ‘merits and defects’ as represented in polemical texts. Several treatises serve as the essential link of the continuous debates, eliciting back-and-forth elaboration and rebuttals from both sides. Through an analysis of the polemical discourse, I argue that the Buddhist–Christian case offers an instance of what René Girard termed ‘mimetic rivalry’. The conflict entails internal rivalry resulting not only from different religious perspectives but also from social, cultural and economic ones. Seeking interconnectedness between traditions by creative imagination and analogy may offer a way out of ignorance and enmity in dealing with interreligious relationship. 1

The Life of Love and Resistance to Clerical Authority in Book to a Mother and Middle English Lollard Writing

Among vernacular religious manuals composed for women in the fourteenth century, Book to a Mother takes the unusual position of rejecting cloistered life for a widow's emulation and presents an alternative program of reading based on love and imitatio Christi. This essay reexamines Book to a Mother's adaptation of allegories of the cloister and its transformation of clerical practices of reading alongside lollard polemical writings that also sidestep priestly authority and institutional religion in Christian life. Although Book's use of polemical discourse has been downplayed or treated as separate from its devotional aims, this essay argues that Book combines devotion and dissent to empower the mother's reading, preaching, and living, and that such a dialogue is characteristic of lollard forms of living. In its attention to polemic, this analysis is significant for understanding the history of vernacular theologies and their experimentation with different rhetorical modes for reshaping belief and practice.

Interpolating Polemic: Islam, muslims, and Muhammad in Bernhard von Breidenbach’s late-Medieval pilgrimage account Peregrinatio in terram sanctam

Whereas interpolation has been comprehensively examined in relation to itinerary passages in late medieval pilgrimage writing, this article examines it as a tool for anti-Islamic polemic in Bernhard von Breidenbach’s Peregrinatio in terram sanctam. The article centers on the (dis)continuities of polemical discourse on Islam, Muslims and the prophet Muhammad between the German version of the pilgrimage account first published in Mainz in 1486, and the Latin religious polemics it interpolates extensively, namely two texts by converso authors: Petrus Alfonsi’s Dialogus contra iudaeos and Paulus de Santa Maria’s Additiones ad Postillam Nicolai de Lyra. These comparative case studies reveal two complementary interpolative approaches. The first is to edit borrowed text passages to fit the argumentative structure of the target text. The second is to juxtapose borrowed text with original contrasting argumentation in the target text. Both contribute towards an argumentatively scathing and rhetorically emotive anti-Islamic polemic, which expands on the Latin canon of established tropes and arguments on which this vernacular pilgrimage account draws.

Radykalność filozofii. Rozważania wokół książki Pawła Kłoczowskiego Rewolucja kartezjańska i inne szkice


 
 
 The radical nature of philosophy. Reflections on Paweł Kłoczowski’s book Cartesian revolution and other sketches: This paper offers a polemical discussion on Paweł Kłoczowski’s recently published book concerning the so‐called Cartesian revolution and other issues in social and political philosophy. The author presents Kłoczowski as the ideological heir of Leszek Kołakowski (1927–2009), and simultaneously a virtuoso of Polish philosophical essay writing. She demonstrates how topical, and at the same time timeless, are those problems considered by Kłoczowski. In doing so, she examines the inspirations of Kłoczowski and highlights some of his arguments: ones seemingly still stimulating triggers for our thinking.
 
 

A Gift from England: William Ames and His Polemical Discourse against Dutch Arminianism. By Takayuki Yagi

<i>A Gift from England: William Ames and His Polemical Discourse against Dutch Arminianism</i>. By <scp>Takayuki Yagi</scp>