The nature of scholarly dispute and polemics in the context of philosophy of science

The article deals with the topical issue of understanding scholarly dispute and polemics, revealing their potential in scholarly communication and the functions of science as a social institution, knowledge system and a professional activity. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the representation of the phenomena of scholarly debates and scientific polemics in the context of philosophy of science, in contrast to the previously predominant linguistic and pedagogical approaches. Scholarly debate and polemics have been found to be means of acquiring new knowledge and disseminating it. Using examples from the history of science, it is shown that scientific discussion was a tool that allowed for the demarcation between science and ideology, science and pseudoscience. On the basis of the scholarly polemics between I. Hrushovsky and N.O. Lossky, the author demonstrates its importance in promoting a scientistic attitude and shaping scientific thinking in the Slovak academic environment of the midtwentieth century.