Dispute
A controversy is a contentious dispute -- a disagreement, about which parties are actively arguing, from the "opposed sides" that are denoted in the word's Latin source. Controversies can range from a private disputes between two individuals to the largest social upheavals. Many of the Early Christian writers, such as Irenaeus or Jerome were famed as "controversialists" and wrote works against perceived heresy or heretical individuals, works whose titles begin Adversus... such as Irenaeus' Adversus haeresis. The Christian writers inherited from the classical rhetors the conventional conviction that controversial confrontations, even over trivial matters, were a demonstration of intellectual superiority. Compare the orations of Demosthenes, or Cicero's In Catalinam ("Against Cataline").
In jurisprudence, a controversy differs from a case, which includes all suits criminal as well as civil; whereas controversy is a civil and not a criminal proceeding. By the Constitution of the United States, the judicial power shall extend to controversies to which the United States shall be a party. (Article 2, 1.) The meaning to be attached to the word controversy in the constitution, is that above given.
Part of the nature of controversy is that the matter in contention cannot be conclusively settled one way or another, and is often accompanied by the disruption of peace and even quarreling. Constantine I convoked the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE in hopes of settling the Arian controversy. Once the Council had reached their decision, further discussion was anathema. That was the Christian way.
Three great controversies in the history of Christianity have been the Arian controversy, the "filioque" controversy and the Investiture controversy. Knowing both sides of their histories in detail helps clarify the connotations of "controversy."
In modern usage, the function of "controversial" may be recognized sometimes as a self-fulfilling adjective, which, whenever the reader sees it, should be critically scrutinized. Propagandists may employ controversial as a "tar-brush," pejoratively to identify a subject and thus create a perceived atmosphere of controversy, where perhaps none authentically exists. Thus:
- "Beatrix Potter's creation, Peter Rabbit..."
- "Beatrix Potter's controversial creation, Peter Rabbit..."
A reader might compare the entry controversial book to judge whether or not an unjustified inclusion in such a listing automatically creates an atmosphere of "controversy."
This present entry was listed at BambooWeb:Votes for Deletion as exhibiting an insufficiently neutral point-of-view, before analysis of the way the word controversial functions had actually begun. Thus controversy may be judged "controversial." Nevertheless issues, books, poems, games and religious cults are and have been listed as being controversial at such entries as BambooWeb:List of controversial issues, controversial books of poetry, list of controversial new religious movements.
On the other hand, propagandists may also try to draw attention to their product or ideas by labeling them as controversial, even if the idea has become widely accepted to a given segment of the population. For example, Western film-makers may deliberately market suggestive films to their audiences as being controversial, even though most of their market would not object to such content, or would even be surprised to hear that others find it objectionable. Political or social issue writers may also try to get their content labeled "controversial" to draw added publicity to their works.
See also Succès de scandale: public controversy (whether artificially engendered or resulting from real dispute) has been shown to determine success.
