The act or habit of making statements based on pride,
self-importance,
conceit, or the
assumption of intellectual superiority and the presumption of knowledge that is not in evidence or supported by any facts or experience.
Example:
"The War in Iraq is similar to the War in Vietnam" stated by
Howard Dean is based on Dr.
Dean's arrogance and
self-importance, and not based on any understanding of current events or direct knowledge of the situation in Iraq.
Senator Kennedy repeating "Lie after Lie after Lie..." is evidence of his arrogance that seems to derive from little more than his family name, and not from his knowledge of the subject matter, or his understanding of events.
Contrast this to ignorance -- for example, claiming that Islam is a Peaceful Religion when in fact the religion is only peaceful to others who submit to it (the meaning of "Islam") and even then it is not peaceful to other "believers" who belong to different Islamic
sects. This is not an example of arrogance as much as an example of ignorance, but the act of making such claims is similar to arrogance.