Controversies. Ethics and Interdisciplinarity

Controversy is a ubiquitous phenomenon in human theoretical and practical life. It manifests itself in various forms, ranging from virulent polemics to polite and well-ordered discussion. It expresses dissent, and may either lead to irreconcilable conflict or pave the way to conflict resolution. It occurs in private and everyday social life, in the courtroom and in politics, as well as in science, the arts, philosophy, and theology. Wherever it occurs, controversy sharpens critical thinking and prevents mental and social stagnation. Rather than a peripheral phenomenon, controversy is the engine of intellectual and practical progress. The proper study of controversy is inevitably interdisciplinary, requiring the cooperation of practitioners of the art of controversy as well as of researchers in conflict resolution, mediation, diplomacy, communication, linguistics, logic, rhetoric, history, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, etc. The book series is predicated upon the belief that interdisciplinary research is a must in the investigation of complex phenomena such as controversy, and that it is feasible, even though it is not easy to achieve. Controversies includes studies in the theory of controversy or any of its salient aspects, studies of the history of controversy forms and their evolution, case-studies of particular historical or current controversies in any field or period, edited collections of documents of a given controversy or a family of related controversies, and other controversy-focused books. The series also acts as a forum for ‘agenda-setting’ debates, where prominent discussants of current controversial issues take part. Since controversy involves necessarily dialogue, manuscripts focusing exclusively on one position will not be considered.