Controversy And Confrontation

The essays that are collected in Controversy and Confrontation provide a closer insight into the relationship between controversy and confrontation that deepens our understanding of the functioning of argumentative discourse in managing differences of opinion. Their authors stem from two backgrounds. First, the controversy scholars Dascal, Marras, Euli, Regner, Ferreira, and Lessl discuss historical controversies in science, both from a theoretical and an empirical perspective; Saim concentrates on a historical controversy; Fritz provides a historical perspective on controversies by analyzing communication principles. Second the argumentation scholars Johnson, van Laar, van Eemeren, Garssen and Meuffels address theoretical or empirical aspects of argumentative confrontation; Aakhus and Vasilyeva examine argumentative discourse from the perspective of conversation analysis; Jackson analyzes argumentative confrontation in a recent debate between scientists and politicians. Last but not least, two contributors, Kutrovátz and Zemplén, make an attempt to bridge the study of historical controversy and the study of argumentation.

This volume offers fifteen chapters written by leading specialists which explore the range of ways in which the book industry negotiated conflicts and controversies in the early modern European world.

You have struggled with doubt and skepticism yourself. As you present your faith and think about it, you find it difficult to share it with nonbelievers. This is not because you are afraid to, but because skeptics just don't seem to want to understand. This contributes to your doubt and skepticism. Still, though you struggle with your faith, you find that what you do believe is congruent with the Christian tradition and with Scripture itself. This work does not attempt to convince the reader to believe a certain way. Rather, it is simply the expression of faith from a modern circuit rider. It serves as a facilitator of expressing faith, of thinking about it, and hopefully stimulating others to express their faith in the contexts of skepticism and traditional acceptance. Should you disagree with the points of the book, great! I simply hope that you will present your own version in some form. Maybe you'll write your own book.

Using the social psychological theory of 'constructive controversy', this book analyses the nature of disagreement among members of decision-making groups. It addresses questions such as: do differences of opinion enhance or obstruct creative thinking? And why do people make decisions based only on their own perspective without considering alternative viewpoints?

The public visibility of Islam is becoming increasingly controversial throughout European countries. With case studies drawn from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, this book examines a range of public issues, including mosque construction, ritual slaughter, Sharia councils and burqa bans, addressing the question of ’Islamic difference’ in public life outside the confines of established normative discourses that privilege freedom of religion, minority rights or multiculturalism. Acknowledging the creative role of dissent, it explores the manner in which public controversies unsettle the religious-secular divide and reshape European norms in the domains of aesthetics, individual freedom, animal rights and law. Developing an innovative conceptual framework and elaborating the notion of controversy as a methodological tool, Islam and Public Controversy in Europe draws our attention to the processes of interaction, confrontation and mutual transformation, thereby opening up a new horizon for rethinking difference and pluralism in Europe. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in religion, integration, cultural difference and the public sphere.