Interpreting the Motion:

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International Debate Education Association

• Interpreting the Motion
• Arguing About Definitions

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Why are Definitions of Words Important?
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Definitions in Debate
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Definition and Substance

• Arguing about definitions Has the government
  team provided a reasonable definition of the
  motion?
• Arguing about substance Has the government team
  offered substantive arguments in favor of the
  motion?

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Why Argue About Definitions?

• Arguing about definitions provides a check
  against trivial interpretations of a motion.
• Arguing about definitions forces the government
  team to focus on real substantive issues.

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ExampleResolved China should increase the
exploration of space.

• Increase spend 10 more RMB per year on
  exploration
• Space closets
• What kinds of arguments can you make about these
  definitions and how they are unreasonable or not
  substantive?
• Why would it be important to object to these
  definitions?

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ExampleResolved The United States should
adopt a policy to fight obesity.

• Adopt a Policy to enact a new law or
  regulation
• Fight to combat or resist
• Obesity overweight cats
• Which terms are reasonable and unreasonable?

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ExampleResolved China should expand
resources for rural education.

• Expand increase in size or scope
• Resources school buildings and educational
  infrastructure
• Rural non-urban communities
• Education formal programs to improve the
  knowledge of the people
• What kinds of arguments can you make about these
  definitions and how they are unreasonable or not
  substantive?
• Is it worth the opposition teams time to object
  to these definitions?

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Pitfalls of Arguing about Definitions

• From the perspective of debate as constructive
  arguing
• Time spent arguing about definitions is time not
  spent arguing about important substantive ideas.
• The point of debating is to argue about
  substantive ideas.
• From the perspective of debate competition
• Unless the opposition wins this issue clearly, it
  will do them no good.
• Arguing about definitions takes time away from
  other issues debaters want to argue about.

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Achieving the Balance

• Government has the obligation to discuss the
  substantive issues framed in the motion.
• If the Government does address these issues, the
  debate should proceed on their terms.
• Only in the rare case where the Government does
  not address the issues framed in the resolution,
  should the focus of the debate shift from
  substance to definition.

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The Governments Rights and Responsibilities

• Right to define the proposition
• The Government has the burden to prove the
  resolution true.
• This burden is partially offset by their right to
  define the proposition as they see fit.
• Responsibility to define the proposition in a
  reasonable fashion
• The government does not have to have a perfect
  definition, just a reasonable one.
• A reasonable definition is one that people would
  find acceptable in most situations.

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Terms in the Charter
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Truism

• Definition a statement that is, by its very
  nature, obviously true. If the government
  defined terms in such a way as to force the
  opposition to deny an indisputable fact, they
  would be offering a truism.
• Resolved Human beings should not kill.
• Government interpretation People should not
  commit murder.
• The problem The use of the term murder limits
  the proposition in such a way that it makes it
  harder to oppose.

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Tautology

• Definition A tautology is a statement that is
  true by virtue of its logical nature.
• Resolved The practice of lecturing is
  over-emphasized in undergraduate education.
• Government Interpretation The Government
  defines lecturing as an instructors undue
  reliance on his own words.
• Problem The interpretation is tautological
  because accepting the words undue reliance
  means the method is over-emphasized.

Example taken from Branham, Robert Debate and
Critical Analysis The Harmony of Conflict (1991)
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Place Set

• Definition A restrictive place set restricts
  the topic to an unnaturally restrictive
  geographical or spatial location.
• Resolved The United States should increase
  funding for rural education.
• Government Interpretation The Government
  defines rural as Kirksville, Missouri.
• Problem The definition significantly limits the
  debate to a very specific area, with very unique
  circumstances, about which the Opposition or
  adjudicators might not have sufficient knowledge.

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Time Set

• Definition Setting an unnaturally restrictive
  chronological duration.
• Resolved The air conditioning should be
  turned-up in all public buildings.
• Government Interpretation It should be
  turned-up for the duration of this debate.
• Problem The interpretation isnt substantive.
  It would only allow for consideration of the
  immediate circumstances and not the effects of a
  more consistent policy.

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How to Frame the Argument

• Identify the term you feel has been defined
  unfairly.
• Explain how the definition is either not
  reasonable, or does not allow for substantive
  debate.
• Avoid being excessively critical! If the
  definitions chosen by the Government can still
  allow for a good debate, proceed with debating
  the substantive issues.