polemic

Use this forum to suggest Good Words for Professor Beard.
Bailey
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2114
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:51 pm

polemic

Postby Bailey » Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:47 am

po·lem·ic(p-lmk)
n.
1. A controversial argument, especially one refuting or attacking a specific opinion or doctrine.
2. A person engaged in or inclined to controversy, argument, or refutation.
adj. also po·lem·i·cal (--kl)
Of or relating to a controversy, argument, or refutation.



[French polémique, from Greek polemikos, hostile, from polemos, war.]



po·lemi·cal·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
mark stirring-the-pot Bailey

Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...
kb









Perry
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2306
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:50 am
Location: Asheville, NC

Postby Perry » Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:11 am

I never knew the second definition. Thanks for stirring the pot, old chimp!
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
Anonymous

User avatar
gailr
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1945
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:40 am
Contact:

Postby gailr » Thu Aug 02, 2007 2:09 pm

Etymonline added this quote to their definition:
"The worst offense that can be committed by a polemic is to stigmatize those who hold a contrary opinion as bad and immoral men." ―John Stuart Mill, 1806-73

Stargzer
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2578
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
Location: Crownsville, MD

Re: polemic

Postby Stargzer » Thu Aug 02, 2007 5:33 pm

... mark stirring-the-pot Bailey
Just don't get caught smoking it ...
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

Bailey
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2114
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:51 pm

Re: polemic

Postby Bailey » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:29 pm

... mark stirring-the-pot Bailey


Just don't get caught smoking it ...
no I don't inhale.

mark just-crazy-anyway Bailey
"The worst offense that can be committed by a polemic is to stigmatize those who hold a contrary opinion as bad and immoral men." ―John Stuart Mill, 1806-73
Huh?

Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...
kb









Stargzer
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2578
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
Location: Crownsville, MD

Re: polemic

Postby Stargzer » Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:43 pm

...
"The worst offense that can be committed by a polemic is to stigmatize those who hold a contrary opinion as bad and immoral men." ―John Stuart Mill, 1806-73
Huh?
Methinks it be a diatribe against argumentum ad hominem.
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

User avatar
gailr
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1945
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:40 am
Contact:

Re: polemic

Postby gailr » Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:26 am

Methinks it be a diatribe against argumentum ad hominem.
AKA the MSM, no matter which wing of the dial you've tuned in to.

Bailey
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2114
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:51 pm

Postby Bailey » Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:49 am

MSM?, help a chimp here

mark no-MSM-on-my-chinese-please Bailey

Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...
kb









Stargzer
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2578
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
Location: Crownsville, MD

Postby Stargzer » Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:38 am

... and help a geezer, too. Mainstream Media? Million Skirted Men? Men having Something with Men? :shock:

Those are the top ones listed on Wikipedia and on a Google search.
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

Perry
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2306
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:50 am
Location: Asheville, NC

Postby Perry » Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:52 pm

AKA the MSM, no matter which wing of the dial you've tuned in to.
The context makes me think that Gail is referring to mainstream media.
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
Anonymous

User avatar
gailr
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1945
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:40 am
Contact:

Postby gailr » Fri Aug 03, 2007 3:46 pm

MSM?, help a chimp here
... and help a geezer, too. Mainstream Media? Million Skirted Men? Men having Something with Men?
Dudes! In the words of Zaphod Beebleborx, if you were any more unhip your pants would fall down.

Perry's deduction is correct, and I think I've located the proper 'helmet' for him. Of course, houndstooth clashes dreadfully with a gi, so perhaps it should be rendered in white cotton with ties to match your belt color? :D

-gailr

ps: I suspect Perry does not smoke, so in regards to the link above, this is not a pipe.

Stargzer
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2578
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
Location: Crownsville, MD

Postby Stargzer » Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:46 pm

I figured you might have meant mainstream media, but MSM practices argumentum ad hominem (AAH). They may be the prototypical users of AAH (just see their reaction to the Fox News Network and Bill O'Reilly), but they are not in and of themselves AAH.

And how hip can you really be if you spell Zaphod's last name wrong? :shock: Oh, yeah! I remember now:
"I'd much rather be happy than right, anyway."
-- Slartibartfast
;-)
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

Bailey
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2114
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:51 pm

Postby Bailey » Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:06 pm

Pssssst. AAH?

Gzer, she said we're unhip is that man-bashing or some arcane ad hominem thing? Make her stop, Chimp's head hurts.

I was watching springer and franken and threw up my lunch, banana/bile all over the carpet.

mark prefers-middle-of-the-road-to-wingers Bailey

Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...
kb









User avatar
gailr
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1945
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:40 am
Contact:

Postby gailr » Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:22 pm

And how hip can you really be if you spell Zaphod's last name wrong? :shock: Oh, yeah! I remember now:
"I'd much rather be happy than right, anyway."
-- Slartibartfast
;-)
My head is bowed in shame. :oops:
"Hell's donkeys," muttered Zaphod.

They've changed the cable scam here again; Fox is still available morning, noon and night, but MSNBC has been moved to another tier, one I am not willing to cough up more for. (You'd think the Big Head money would go further in paying for talking heads...) I was in twitching Countdown withdrawal for a couple weeks, but a strict regimen of Godiva's chocolates pulled me through. Without Bill, the universe wouldn't need Keith. Without Rush, the universe wouldn't need Al. Without Ann, well, frankly the universe would be better off without her, any way you look at it... Some hip dude said, "For every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction."

When those reactions become extreme and polarizing, it's disturbing. And yet, if either one of the polar extremes crushes all other voices, the population is in even worse trouble, if history is any indication. The centrists are not prone to histrionics and polemics and demanding blind obedience.

-gailr

btw, Bailey: a little caffeine might clear up that headache. Manbashing requires a generalization: "all men are unhip", (a pretty lame bash, IMHO) nor would I have complimented Perry's deductive reasoning in the same post. An ad hominem attack would ignore your point; you weren't making one in asking for a clarification. Good joking comeback, though, and I will continue to view your little baits with fond indulgence...

Perry
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2306
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:50 am
Location: Asheville, NC

Postby Perry » Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:50 am

MSM?, help a chimp here
... and help a geezer, too. Mainstream Media? Million Skirted Men? Men having Something with Men?
Dudes! In the words of Zaphod Beebleborx, if you were any more unhip your pants would fall down.

Perry's deduction is correct, and I think I've located the proper 'helmet' for him. Of course, houndstooth clashes dreadfully with a gi, so perhaps it should be rendered in white cotton with ties to match your belt color? :D

-gailr

ps: I suspect Perry does not smoke, so in regards to the link above, this is not a pipe.
I would happily wear a deerstalker, but my kids (and wife) would claim that I am embarrasing them. I used to smoke a pipe. actually. When I was a pipe smoker, I favored Alsbo Gold. It stayed wonderfully fresh, even if you half smoke the pipe the day before, and relight. Also passive smokers used to love the aroma. It was fun while it lasted.
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
Anonymous


Return to “Good Word Suggestions”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 46 guests