maintainedargued

Maintainedargued is a relatively obscure term used in discourse analysis and argumentation studies to describe a particular pattern of argumentative persistence. It is a neologism formed from the words maintained and argued, indicating that a claim remains the central focus of a discussion despite opposing evidence or counterarguments.

The term is typically used in two related senses. In a pragmatic sense, a maintainedargued claim is one that a speaker continues to defend by restating the same core point, even as interlocutors advance refutations. In a descriptive sense, it refers to the character of an argument that is kept alive across dialogue turns, resisting substantial reworking to accommodate new information.

Common features include repeated restatement of the core claim, selective acknowledgment of counterpoints without full revision, and a perceived steady stance across discussion frames. It is distinct from simply arguing a point; it emphasizes continuity of the central claim rather than the strength of the individual argument.

Example: In a policy debate on a hypothetical X, Participant A keeps asserting that X will yield outcome Y and maintains that in every reply, even after data disputes, they do not revise the claim beyond minor qualifiers.

Critics note that maintainedargued can describe dogged or dysfunctional discourse, potentially hindering productive dialogue. Proponents argue it helps identify persistence patterns that may reveal underlying values or assumptions. Its utility lies in diagnosing how claims persist and how dialogue might be steered toward revision.

See also: argumentation theory, rhetoric, persistence bias, confirmation bias, dogmatism.