Antithesis (Greek for "setting opposite", from ἀντι- "against" and θέσις "placing") is used in writing or speech either as a proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition, or when two opposites are introduced together for contrasting effect. This is based on the logical phrase or term.[1][2]
Antithesis can be defined as "a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure. Parallelism of expression serves to emphasize opposition of ideas".[3]
An antithesis must always contain two ideas within one statement. The ideas may not be structurally opposite, but they serve to be functionally opposite when comparing two ideas for emphasis.[4]
According to Aristotle, the use of an antithesis makes the audience better understand the point the speaker is trying to make. Further explained, the comparison of two situations or ideas makes choosing the correct one simpler. Aristotle states that antithesis in rhetoric is similar to syllogism due to the presentation of two conclusions within a statement.[5]
Antitheses are used to strengthen an argument by using either exact opposites or simply contrasting ideas, but can also include both. They typically make a sentence more memorable for the reader or listener through balance and emphasis of the words.[6]
An antithesis can also be combined with synonymous parallelism. In the following example, the first (A, A') and second couplet (B, B') are parallel synonymously with the same adverb and verb combination distinguishing the couplets: "still do"/"still be"//"still do"/"still be." An antithesis is formed with line A contrasting "evil" with "right" in line B. Line A' contrasts the "filthy" with the "holy" in line B'.[8]
• A Let the evildoer still do evil,
• A' and the filthy still be filthy,
• B and the righteous still do right.
• B' and the holy still be holy (Revelation 22:11).
For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14)
Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. (by Winston Churchill)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way... (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities)
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. (Martin Luther King Jr., speech at St. Louis, 1964.)
The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. (Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, 1863.)
He who desires peace, should prepare for war. (Vegetius, Epitoma Rei Militaris, book 3, introduction.)
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. (St Paul, 1st Epistle to the Corinthians 13:12, Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition)
Senator, in everything I said about Iraq I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong. (George Galloway at a US Senate hearing, May 2005.)[9]
I'm not saying that this or that statue was stolen from there; I'm saying this, that you, Verres, left not one single statue in Aspendus. (Cicero, In Verrem, 2.1.53.)
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. (Martin Luther King Jr., 1963.)
For contemplation he and valour formed, For softness she and sweet attractive grace; He for God only, she for God in him. (John Milton, Paradise Lost)
Matthew's Antitheses is the traditional name given to a section of the Sermon on the Mount[Matt. 5:17–48] where Jesus takes six well known prescriptions of the Mosaic Law and calls his followers to do more than the Law requires. Protestant scholars since the Reformation have generally believed that Jesus was setting his teaching over against false interpretations of the Law current at the time. "Antithesis" was the name given by Marcion of Sinope to a manifesto in which he contrasted the Old Testament with the New Testament and defined what came to be known as Marcionism.
In dialectics (any formal system of reasoning that arrives at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments) antithesis is the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, usually in a balanced way. The logical arguments are said to be stated in the order thesis, antithesis, synthesis.
Although this style of philosophical discussion (stating a point of view, then its opposite, and finally drawing a conclusion) was commonly used by ancient philosophers,[10] the use of the trio "thesis, antithesis, synthesis" itself to describe it goes back only to the 18th century, to a work published in 1794 by the German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte.[11]
The phrase is sometimes incorrectly stated to originate from the German philosopher Hegel. However, Hegel never actually used the trio of terms except once in a lecture, in which he reproached Immanuel Kant for having "everywhere posited thesis, antithesis, synthesis".[12]
See also
Look up antithesis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
^Cody, Sherwin (December 31, 2007). The Art of Writing and Speaking the English Language. ISBN978-1406846577.
^"Antithesis". The Columbia Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. 1963.
^Lloyd, Alfred (May 25, 1911). "The Logic of Antithesis". The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods. 8 (11): 281–289. doi:10.2307/2013034. JSTOR 2013034.
^Preminger, Alex; Brogan, T.V.F. (1993). Antithesis. Princeton University Press.
^Nick Skellon, "Antithesis: examples and definition," Speak Like A Pro. 2013
^One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Antithesis". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 146–147.
^Craig R. Koester, 2014. Revelation (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014), 853.
^Williams, Robert R. (1992). Recognition: Fichte and Hegel on the Other. SUNY Press. p. 46, note 37.
^Kaufmann, Walter, Hegel: A Reinterpretation, 1966, Anchor Books, p.154. See for a discussion of the historical development of the triad of "thesis, antithesis, synthesis." Charles Edward Andrew Lincoln IV, Hegelian Dialectical Analysis of U.S. Voting Laws, 42 U. Dayton L. Rev. 87 (2017). See Lincoln, Charles The Dialectical Path of Law, 2021 Rowman & Littlefield.
antithesis, other, uses, disambiguation, greek, setting, opposite, from, ἀντι, against, θέσις, placing, used, writing, speech, either, proposition, that, contrasts, with, reverses, some, previously, mentioned, proposition, when, opposites, introduced, together. For other uses see Antithesis disambiguation Antithesis Greek for setting opposite from ἀnti against and 8esis placing is used in writing or speech either as a proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition or when two opposites are introduced together for contrasting effect This is based on the logical phrase or term 1 2 Antithesis can be defined as a figure of speech involving a seeming contradiction of ideas words clauses or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure Parallelism of expression serves to emphasize opposition of ideas 3 An antithesis must always contain two ideas within one statement The ideas may not be structurally opposite but they serve to be functionally opposite when comparing two ideas for emphasis 4 According to Aristotle the use of an antithesis makes the audience better understand the point the speaker is trying to make Further explained the comparison of two situations or ideas makes choosing the correct one simpler Aristotle states that antithesis in rhetoric is similar to syllogism due to the presentation of two conclusions within a statement 5 Antitheses are used to strengthen an argument by using either exact opposites or simply contrasting ideas but can also include both They typically make a sentence more memorable for the reader or listener through balance and emphasis of the words 6 Contents 1 Rhetorical antithesis 1 1 Some literary examples 2 The Antitheses in St Matthew s Gospel 3 In philosophical discussion 4 See also 5 ReferencesRhetorical antithesis EditIn rhetoric antithesis is a figure of speech involving the bringing out of a contrast in the ideas by an obvious contrast in the words clauses or sentences within a parallel grammatical structure 7 The term antithesis in rhetoric goes back to the 4th century BC for example Aristotle Rhetoric 1410a in which he gives a series of examples An antithesis can be a simple statement contrasting two things using a parallel structure I defended the Republic as a young man I shall not desert her now that I am old Cicero 2nd Philippic 2 118 Often there is a double antithesis as in the following proverb where man is opposed to God and proposes is contrasted with disposes Man proposes God disposes anonymous Another type is of the form not A but B negative positive in which the point made is emphasised by first being contrasted with its negative I came not to bring peace but a sword St Matthew s Gospel 10 34 Another type involves an antimetabole AB BA word order in which the contrasted words switch places In peace you long for war and in war you long for peace Two things show feebleness of mind holding your breath at the time for speaking and speaking when you should be silent Saadi The negative positive antithesis and the antimetabole antithesis can be combined as in the following sentence Ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country Inauguration of John F Kennedy 1961 An antithesis can also be combined with synonymous parallelism In the following example the first A A and second couplet B B are parallel synonymously with the same adverb and verb combination distinguishing the couplets still do still be still do still be An antithesis is formed with line A contrasting evil with right in line B Line A contrasts the filthy with the holy in line B 8 A Let the evildoer still do evil A and the filthy still be filthy B and the righteous still do right B and the holy still be holy Revelation 22 11 dd Some literary examples Edit Some other examples of antithesis are Give every man thy ear but few thy voice William Shakespeare Hamlet For many are called but few are chosen Matthew 22 14 Never give in never never never never in nothing great or small large or petty never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense by Winston Churchill It was the best of times it was the worst of times it was the age of wisdom it was the age of foolishness it was the epoch of belief it was the epoch of incredulity it was the season of Light it was the season of Darkness it was the spring of hope it was the winter of despair we had everything before us we had nothing before us we were all going direct to Heaven we were all going direct the other way Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools Martin Luther King Jr speech at St Louis 1964 The world will little note nor long remember what we say here but it can never forget what they did here Abraham Lincoln The Gettysburg Address 1863 He who desires peace should prepare for war Vegetius Epitoma Rei Militaris book 3 introduction For now we see in a mirror dimly but then face to face Now I know in part then I shall understand fully even as I have been fully understood St Paul 1st Epistle to the Corinthians 13 12 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition My men have become women and my women men King Xerxes at the Battle of Salamis 480 BC according to Herodotus 8 88 3 Senator in everything I said about Iraq I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong George Galloway at a US Senate hearing May 2005 9 I m not saying that this or that statue was stolen from there I m saying this that you Verres left not one single statue in Aspendus Cicero In Verrem 2 1 53 I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character Martin Luther King Jr 1963 For contemplation he and valour formed For softness she and sweet attractive grace He for God only she for God in him John Milton Paradise Lost The Antitheses in St Matthew s Gospel EditMain article Matthew 5 Antitheses Matthew s Antitheses is the traditional name given to a section of the Sermon on the Mount Matt 5 17 48 where Jesus takes six well known prescriptions of the Mosaic Law and calls his followers to do more than the Law requires Protestant scholars since the Reformation have generally believed that Jesus was setting his teaching over against false interpretations of the Law current at the time Antithesis was the name given by Marcion of Sinope to a manifesto in which he contrasted the Old Testament with the New Testament and defined what came to be known as Marcionism In philosophical discussion EditSee also Thesis antithesis synthesis and Dialectic In dialectics any formal system of reasoning that arrives at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments antithesis is the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas usually in a balanced way The logical arguments are said to be stated in the order thesis antithesis synthesis Although this style of philosophical discussion stating a point of view then its opposite and finally drawing a conclusion was commonly used by ancient philosophers 10 the use of the trio thesis antithesis synthesis itself to describe it goes back only to the 18th century to a work published in 1794 by the German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte 11 The phrase is sometimes incorrectly stated to originate from the German philosopher Hegel However Hegel never actually used the trio of terms except once in a lecture in which he reproached Immanuel Kant for having everywhere posited thesis antithesis synthesis 12 See also Edit Look up antithesis in Wiktionary the free dictionary Alternative hypothesis Dialectical materialism Dialectic Opposite Antimetabole Figure of speechReferences Edit Ferreira Gladwyn English Kumarbharati Grammar Language Study amp Writing Skills Std X a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Cody Sherwin December 31 2007 The Art of Writing and Speaking the English Language ISBN 978 1406846577 Antithesis The Columbia Encyclopedia Columbia University Press 1963 Lloyd Alfred May 25 1911 The Logic of Antithesis The Journal of Philosophy Psychology and Scientific Methods 8 11 281 289 doi 10 2307 2013034 JSTOR 2013034 Preminger Alex Brogan T V F 1993 Antithesis Princeton University Press Nick Skellon Antithesis examples and definition Speak Like A Pro 2013 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Antithesis Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 2 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 146 147 Craig R Koester 2014 Revelation New Haven CT Yale University Press 2014 853 BBC News online 17 May 2005 E g Cicero de Officiis 3 54 57 Williams Robert R 1992 Recognition Fichte and Hegel on the Other SUNY Press p 46 note 37 Kaufmann Walter Hegel A Reinterpretation 1966 Anchor Books p 154 See for a discussion of the historical development of the triad of thesis antithesis synthesis Charles Edward Andrew Lincoln IV Hegelian Dialectical Analysis of U S Voting Laws 42 U Dayton L Rev 87 2017 See Lincoln Charles The Dialectical Path of Law 2021 Rowman amp Littlefield 1 Antithesis in Plato s Euthydemus and Lysis Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Antithesis amp oldid 1151575940, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
