On the Legitimacy of Eristic in the Context of Rhetoric
On the Legitimacy of Eristic in the Context of Rhetoric

Summary/Abstract: This paper is an attempt at a contemporary revision of eristics from the perspective of anallegation of being an immoral art of excuses that is only pretending to be rhetoric, a noble artof striving for the truth which is commonly (since ancient times) formulated against the eristics.To achieve this goal, it is necessary to evaluate the connection between rhetoric and eristics,especially in terms of similarities. The Aristotelian characteristic of eristics has already separatedthe two, indicating the dishonesty of those who use eristics. Artur Schopenhauer, in turn, diag-noses the term ‘disagreement’ by pointing out the innate tendency among people to win regard-less of the means. Krzysztof Szymanek, on the other hand, strives to justify and, in a way,‘cleanse’ the eristics from a part of the pejorative labels, showing mainly its technical dimensionand partly combining it with rhetoric in terms of the impact that it has on the auditorium. Theeducational function of eristics, although it does not constitute its main purpose, allows for anevaluation of the eristics as a component of the art of arguments rather than just a collection oftechniques unworthy of a respected speaker

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