Definition:
The part of an argument in which a speaker or writer counters opposing points of view. In classical rhetoric, refutation was one of the progymnasmata.
See also:
- The Parts of a Speech
- Anticipation
- Arrangement
- "Do Insects Think?" by Robert Benchley
- Elenchus
- "The Penalty of Death" by H.L. Mencken
- Procatalepsis
- Rebuttal
- Speech
- What Are the Progymnasmata?
Etymology:
From the Old English, "beat"Examples and Observations:
- "Refutation is the part of an essay that disproves the opposing arguments. It is always necessary in a persuasive paper to refute or answer those arguments. A good method for formulating your refutation is to put yourself in the place of your readers, imagining what their objections might be. In the exploration of the issues connected with your subject you may have encountered possible opposing viewpoints in discussions with classmates or friends. In the refutation you refute those arguments by proving the opposing basic proposition untrue or showing the reasons to be invalid. . . .
"In general, there is a question about whether the refutation should come before or after the proof. The arrangement will differ according to the particular subject and the number and strength of the opposing arguments. If the opposing arguments are strong and widely held, they should be answered at the beginning. In this case, the refutation becomes a large part of the proof . . .. At other times when the opposing arguments are weak, the refutation will play only a minor part in the overall proof."
(Winifred Bryan Horner, Rhetoric in the Classical Tradition. St. Martin's, 1988) - "Refutation of Objections should generally be placed in the midst of the Argument; but nearer the beginning than the end.
"If indeed very strong objections have obtained much currency, or have been just stated by an opponent, so that what is asserted is likely to be regarded as paradoxical, it may be advisable to begin with a Refutation."
(Richard Whately, Elements of Rhetoric, 1846) - "There will be those who say 'Go slow. Don't upset the status quo.' No doubt we will hear this from competitors who perceive that they have an advantage today and want regulation to protect their advantage. Or we will hear from those who are behind in the race to compete and want to slow down deployment for their own self interest. Or we will hear from those that just want to resist changing the status quo for no other reason than change brings less certainty than the status quo. They will resist change for that reason alone.
"So we may well hear from a whole chorus of naysayers. And to all of them I have only one response: we cannot afford to wait. We cannot afford to let the homes and schools and businesses throughout America wait. Not when we have seen the future. We have seen what high capacity broadband can do for education and for our economy. We must act today to create an environment where all competitors have a fair shot at bringing high capacity bandwidth to consumers--especially residential consumers. And especially residential consumers in rural and underserved areas."
(William Kennard, Chairman of the FCC, July 27, 1998)
Pronunciation: REF-yoo-TAY-shun
Also Known As: confutation
