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Martin Kmín Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary

high argument

Hi, could anyone please elucidate the meaning of "high argument"?
Thank you
  

Top answer

Dear Martin Kmín, It is in my opinion «a matter for serious and important debate». It is a question about essential things. It is a term in computer programming also.

  • Dear Martin Kmín, It is in my opinion «a matter for serious and important debate».
  • It is a question about essential things.
  • It is a term in computer programming also.
  • Kindest regards, Goldmund
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6 Answers
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Dear Martin Kmín,

It is in my opinion «a matter for serious and important debate». It is a question about essential things.

It is a term in computer programming also.
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Googling suggests that it has both epistemological and cybernetic associations. Can you give us further context?
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Well, I suppose I have a general idea of what this means, but in literature, there can be sometimes found a reference to a Biblical, Milton's or Wordswoth's high argument. I wonder what it alludes to in these specific contexts.
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My guess--in those contexts, 'high argument' = lofty, principled, high-minded, critical, of essential value, definitive, profound, deeply considered, involving superior insight--that kind of thing.
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"Argument" in a poetic context can mean "the principal theme of the poem".

So you might say that Milton's "high argument" in Paradise Lost is "to justify the ways of *** to men" (I.26); while Wordworth's in The Prelude is to depict "the growth of a poet's mind".

The "high arguments" of each of the books of the Old and New Testament would take a little longer to summarise.
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Thank you a lot, that s perfectly sufficient.

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