Eristic

In philosophy and rhetoric, eristic (from Eris, the ancient Greek goddess of chaos, strife, and discord) refers to an argument that aims to successfully dispute another's argument, rather than searching for truth. According to T.H. Irwin, "It is characteristic of the eristic to think of some arguments as a way of defeating the other side, by showing that an opponent must assent to the negation of what he initially took himself to believe."[1] Eristic is defined by Rankin as arguing for the sake of conflict, as opposed to resolving conflict.[2]

  1. ^ Irwin, T.H. "Plato's Objection to the Sophists." The Greek World. London: Routledge, 1995. P. 585. Print.
  2. ^ H.D. Rankin (1983). Sophists, Socratics and Cynics. Pp. 233–237.