Eristics
Eristics (derived from ancient Greek ἐριστικὴ (τέχνη) eristiké (téchne) to ἐριστικός eristikós "quarrelsome" and τέχνη téchne "art") is the doctrine of argument and the art of refutation in a discussion or debate . The term can be found in this context in philosophy and rhetoric .
Antiquity
In Greek mythology, Eris was the goddess of discord and strife. In the philosophy of antiquity , Plato and Aristotle used eristics as a term for scientific disputes, but especially for arguing for the sake of being right. They meant the dialogue technique developed by the sophists , with which - for example in legal disputes - everything could be proven or everything could be refuted. Instead, Plato favored the dialectic developed by Zenon von Elea as a justified method of argumentation . Aristotle also assessed the eristic negatively and counted the eristic syllogism among the sophismata (fallacies).
The Megarics , the followers of the Socrates disciple Euclid of Megara , were also called Eristicians . The earliest investigations into formal logic come from them , so the term eristics in connection with ancient philosophy is by no means only negative. It also refers to a structure of valid evidence and its refutation.
Modern times
1864 was posthumously The Art of Being Right of Arthur Schopenhauer published. The work, subtitled The Art of Being Right, contains 38 rhetorical stratagems .
The work has an ironic undertone: it aims to impart the skills necessary to emerge victorious in any discussion, regardless of the question of whether one's own position corresponds to the truth, and regardless of consistency or fairness towards the opponent. Schopenhauer compares the argument with a fencing match, in which the aim is to defeat the opponent with the skills you have learned, and not to peacefully come to an agreement or at least to work out facts. The whole conception can be understood as Schopenhauer's criticism of the style of discussion of his academic contemporaries, who already use these means, so that it is necessary to use them for self-protection.
