POLEMICS. THEORETICAL DELIMITATIONS AND TEXTUAL DISCOURSE PRACTICES
POLEMICS. THEORETICAL DELIMITATIONS AND TEXTUAL DISCOURSE PRACTICES

Summary/Abstract: Polemics, a particular form of conflicting communication, indicates a verbal exchange, a group of at least two texts which are confronting and facing each other. Metaphorically, polemics is a verbal war and the constitutive discourses are marked by liveliness, by an aggressive character which differentiates them from debate, but also from fight, which degenerates and leads to the battle for self, the content being less important. In the case of scientific discourse, polemics is of a constructive nature, considering that any new scientific theory can launch a polemical debate within the intellectual area in which it occurred, that is why polemics can be also seen as a constitutive dimension of logos. It represents an internal dialogue, an interactional dimension, determining the co-presence of several voices in ”conflict”. Any text or discourse registers, even if only virtually, in a relation to the other and functions as a hypothetical antagonist, that is why the polemical element could be construed as a virtual priority. Scientists are drawn into a ”fight” for the search of truth, either with the aim to bring their contribution to the development of science, or to say the last word and obtain the supremacy in a field of knowledge. Polemics thus places us face to face with the most violent face of power: the irresistible force which determines us to defeat the other, to exercise a total control over him and to eliminate him, if necessary.

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