Debate

1
Debate

• Dr. Seals
• Computer Ethics COMP4730

2
What is Debate?

• A debate is a contest, or, perhaps, like a game,
  where two or more speakers present their
  arguments intent on persuading one another.
• Men have been debating with one another since the
  beginning of time when the serpent first debated
  with Eve the benefits of eating certain fruits in
  the Garden.
• We shall limit ourselves here with discussing
  formal contest debating between educational
  institutions, or, in the world of homeschooling,
  between families that choose to bypass
  educational institutions and educate their
  children at home.

3
Why debate?

• "He the student debater learns to use a
  library, and to find the exact information he
  needs in the shortest possible time.
• Learns to be thorough and accurate.
• Learns to analyze to distinguish between the
  vital and the unimportant.
• Learns the need of proving his statements of
  supporting every statement with valid evidence
  and sound reasoningand he learns to demand the
  same sort of proof for the statements of others.
• Learns to present ideas in a clear and effective
  manner, and in a way which wins others to his way
  of thinking.
• Learns to think under pressure, to "use his head"
  in a time of need, to make decisions quickly and
  accurately.
• In a word, the essential point in any debating
  situation is that of convincing the listener that
  your side of the proposition is desirable." (from
  How to Debate by Harrison Boyd Summers)

4
Four types of debate

• Parliamentary Debate.
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate
• Cross Examination Debate
• Academic Debate

5
Four types of debate

• Parliamentary Debate
• Parliamentary Debate. This is the debating that
  goes on in colleges and universities. For more
  information on this type of debate see the web
  pages we link to on our Trivium Pursuit Links.

6
Lincoln-Douglas Debate

• Lincoln-Douglas Debate (also called value debate)
  is modeled after the namesake for the activity.
  In an Illinois election of the mid-1800s, Abe
  Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas debated the
  slavery issue before audiences in different towns
  around the state.
• Two contestants will debate topics centered
  around moral issues or propositions of value or
  preference.
• Examples of topics appropriate for LD debate
• capital punishment
• abortion or euthanasia.
• Typically, all public and private schools will
  debate the same topic. A new topic is chosen
  every two months (the topics are chosen by some
  public school debate organization).
• The public/private school topic for November and
  December of 1996 was
• Resolved, when in conflict, a business'
  responsibility to itself ought to be valued above
  its responsibility to society.
• The topic for January and February of 1997 is
• Resolved, In United State's policy, the principle
  of universal human rights ought to take
  precedence over conflicting national interest

7
Cross Examination Debate

• Cross Examination Debate (also called policy
  debate or team debate).
• Two teams (two students each ), one representing
  the affirmative position and one representing the
  negative position, will debate topics of public
  or government policy.
• Examples
• Resolved, that chain stores are detrimental to
  the best interests of the American public (1931)
• Resolved, that all electric utilities should be
  governmentally owned and operated (1937)
• Resolved, that the federal government should own
  and operate the railroads (1940)
• Resolved, that a federal world government should
  be established (1943).
• Typically, all public and private schools will
  debate the same topic all year long (some public
  school debate organization picks a new topic each
  year).
• The public/private school topic for the 1996-1997
  school year is Resolved, that the federal
  government should establish a program to
  substantially reduce juvenile crime in the United
  States. See also our links to Cross Examination
  Debate.

8
Four types of debate

• Parliamentary Debate.
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate
• Cross Examination Debate
• Academic Debate
• Academic Debate. These are debates of a purely
  academic nature. An example of this type of
  debate would be creation/evolution debates.

9
How to Get Started in Debate

• Two things you will have to study if you want to
  participate in debate
• The principles of debatelogic, evidence, case
  construction, proof, refuting arguments,
  rebuttal, the brief, etc.
• Pick 3 or 4 debate books out of the debate
  bibliography located elsewhere on this web page
  and study them thoroughly (I especially recommend
  An Introduction to Argumentation and Debate by
  Christy Farris).
• View the debate video put out by Home School
  Legal Defense (watch it several times). Observe
  as many debates as you can. This will be
  difficult for some, but you might look into
  attending some college debates or government high
  school debates or private school debates.
• The more you observe and study the more familiar
  you will become with the procedures and
  terminology of debate.
• Current debate topic.
• Each year there will be a different topic. It is
  best if you can start studying in June the topic
  for the coming school year.
• Studying the current debate topic is the most
  important part and the most time consuming part
  of debating. You must study the subject
  thoroughly, to learn all that is to be known
  about it. The more time and effort you give to
  preparation, the more effective debating you will
  do. The following are a few ideas on how to
  approach the study of ANY debate topic. Some of
  this information is taken from How to Debate by
  Summers, Whan, and Rousse.

10
Four Tips

• Read for background information about the
  subject.
• Prepare a comprehensive bibliography.
• Collect as much material as you can find.
• Read and study the material discovered.

11
1.Read for background information about the
subject.

• Get a good general knowledge of the proposition
  (topic) you are to debate.
• Study the historical background of the topic and
  why this topic is a matter of current interest
• Reading order should be from the general to the
  specific, from background to present-day facts
  and figures, from books to magazines to
  newspapers.
• One will use all of these sources more or less
  concurrently, but for real understanding of the
  broader aspects one needs background material
  early in his research.

12
Debate Details

• Debate Cross-Examination