• Aristocles
    3
    Debates seem to be centred on confirming a particular opinion and shunning another. In a debate one must have an opinion which is held til must fall through proof. The problem I have with debate is that it does not seem interested in finding the truth but in espousing an opinion over another, even if it is inherently wrong. There is also the consequence that a group who is for something may come up with an argument that is not properly disproven by the opposition, resulting in them rejoicing that it is true when there might be a flaw in it. If both sides were to act like the mathematicians who attempt to rigorously prove everything and work together towards the common aim of finding the truth then I believe there would be more rational behaviour in society if it adopted this method of looking at problems. Of course it must be the case that opinions are formulated at the start of all inquiry in the form of hypotheses, but they must not be held with a bias by the formulators of the idea and I think the idea of an opposition must not be agrressive, meaning that the opposition does not fight the one hypothesis because it wants its own to be true, but only is looking at another possible solution who's ideas are to be compared to others in the hope of seeing if there is something missing.
  • Qwex
    366
    Debate is largely for the judge and jury.

    Think of it as extrapolation as well as competition.

    Debate is like discussion, but more precise and characteristic.
  • rob staszewski
    6
    [ Debate is like discussion, but more precise and characteristic.] @Qwex

    G'day, pondering where you're going with "more precise and characteristic"?

    [The problem I have with debate is that it does not seem interested in finding the truth but in espousing an opinion over another, even if it is inherently wrong.] @ Aristocles

    Please develop your understanding further, are there other aspects to debating that you would care to comment on? cheers rob
  • Athena
    3.2k
    Aristocles, Socrates would have agreed with you, and this thread goes nicely with the one on morality.

    Socrates thought the sophists who taught rhetoric were immoral. Rhetoric being about power and politics. Rhetoric leading to the war with Sparta which Athens lost.

    Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic, is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the capacities of writers or speakers needed to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. Wikipedia — Wikipedia

    We might think of this time in history as a replaying of Sparta's take over of Athens. Sparta was the first military-industrial complex and enemy of Athens. Germany was was the second military-industrial complex and this time it was our democracy that won the war, but the US then imitated Germany in every significant way. That is both times Sparta won because the way of Sparta became the controlling force both times. This is important because the democracy of the US that came out of the Age of Reason and centered on arguments for truth and the highest morality, is now what it defended its democracy against, and it is rhetoric for political power that rules the day, not the ideology of the Age of Reason that was the foundation of our democracy.
  • Frank Apisa
    2.1k
    For me, "debate" (especially in an Internet forum) is just fun...a pleasant, engaging pastime that stimulates the brain much as a brisk walk stimulates the body.

    My position on it would be more like, "Just enjoy it, don't over-think it"...than the considerations you offer in your OP.
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