Debate

From Free net encyclopedia

Debate or debating is a formal method of interactive and position representational argument. Rules governing debate allow groups and individuals to discuss and decide issues and differences. Debate is an aspect of argument which is distinct from logical argument, in that it encompasses aspects of human persuasion which appeal to emotional responses —often based on exaggerated or misrepresented statements or claims.

Debate is a common process in deliberative bodies such as parliaments, legislative assemblies, and meetings of all sorts. Outcomes of debates may be decided by voting, by judges, or by combination of both. Formal debates between candidates for elected office such as the leaders debates and the U.S. presidential election debates are common in democracies.

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Debate in education

Competitive debate is a competition commonly engaged in at the high school and college level. It is a rule-governed contest with two sides, usually presided by a number of judges. Each side is attempting to win the approval of a designated audience, such as the judges. An important aspect of the study of debate (ie. as a method or art) is the development for the facility to debate from any position —similar to how a lawyer must argue forcefully on behalf of their client, even if the facts are against them.

Competitive Debate is a highly organised activity with teams competing at the local, national, and international level. It is popular in English-speaking universities and high schools around the world, most notably in South Africa, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Many different styles of debate occur under a variety of organisations and rules.

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Parliamentary debate

Main article: Parliamentary debate

Parliamentary debate (sometimes referred to as "parli" in the United States) is conducted under rules derived from British parliamentary procedure. It features the competition of individuals in a multi-person setting. It borrows terms such as "government" and "opposition" from the British parliament (although the term "proposition" is used rather than "government" when debating in the United Kingdom). It is commonly used in Canada.

Throughout the world, parliamentary debate is what most countries know as "debating", and is the primary style practiced in the United Kingdom, Australia, India and most other nations. The premier event in the world of parliamentary debate, the World Universities Debating Championship, is conducted in the British Parliamentary style.

In the U.S. the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) is the oldest national parliamentary debating organisation, based on the east coast and including all of the Ivy League, although the more recently founded National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA) is now the largest collegiate sponsor. The National Parliamentary Debate League (NPDL) is the umbrella organisation for all debating at the secondary school level in the United States. And in Canada, the Canadian Universities Society for Intercollegiate Debating (CUSID) is the umbrella organisation for all university-level debating.

Topics in parliamentary debate can either be set by the tournament or determined by the debaters as the "Government" side begin. In most forms of the activity, introduction of researched evidence is banned or discouraged, and rhetoric and style can play a significant role in determining the victor. Parliamentary debate is more closely related to theatre and the performance arts than it is to logic or rhetoric. It has also been widely labelled as the most democratic form of educational debate.

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World Schools Style

Template:Main This is a combination of the British Parliamentary and Australian formats, which results in a debate comprising eight speeches delivered by two three-member teams (the Proposition and the Opposition). Each speaker delivers an eight-minute speech - the first two are substansive matter and the third a rebuttal speech; then both teams deliver a "reply speech" lasting four minutes, with the last word being reserved for the Proposition. In junior debates, these limits are changed to about 5 minutes, and in some local competitions, speeches are 7 minutes.

Between the end of the first and the beginning of the last minute of an eight-minute speech, the opposing party may offer "points of information". The speaker may refuse these, but should take at least one or two points during his or her speech. No points of order or privledge are used.

Topics can be supplied long in advance, or may be given 45 minutes or an hour before the debate begins. There is not much room for re-definition, and squirelling is strictly prohibited. The World Schools Debating Championships is attended by many countries, and is in this format.

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Australia-Asia debating

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In the past few years, this style of debating has increased in usage dramatically throughout both Australia and the Asian region, possibly overtaking parliamentary debating in popularity in schools around Australia. In the Australia-Asia style, debates consist of two teams, an "affirmative" and a "negative", each comprised of three members. In most competitions, there will be several debates in fairly quick succession, with the topic being released anywhere from months in advance to an hour before the debate begins. Each member will generally speak for around 6-8 minutes, though this is reduced in younger grades. For example, Year Six debates in the Queensland Debating Union competition have speaking times of between three to four minutes.

The Australasian Intervarsity Debating Association determines the rules for each intervarsity tournament. The Australian Championship (known as Easters) uses 3 on 3 style with no replies. The Australasian Championship uses the 3 on 3 style with replies.

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Policy debate

Main Article: Policy debate

Policy Debate is a style of debating where two teams of two debaters advocate or oppose a plan derived from a resolution that usually calls for a change in policy by a government. Teams normally alternate going "affirmative" or "negative". In most forms of the activity, there is a fixed topic for an entire year or another set period. In comparison to parliamentary debate, policy debate relies more on researched evidence and tends to have a larger sphere of what is considered legitimate argument, including counterplans, critical theory, and debate about the theoretical standards of the activity itself. While rhetoric is important and reflected in the "speaker points" given to each debater, each round is usually decided based on who has "won" the argument according to the evidence and logic presented. Sometimes decisions can take a substantial amount of time with judges reviewing the textual evidence. Additionally, in certain segments of the activity, debaters may speak very rapidly, called "spreading," in order to present as much evidence and information as possible and counter the other side.

Policy Debate is mostly practiced in the United States, although it has been attempted in Europe and Japan and has certainly influenced other forms of debate. Its evolution toward what some see as a more esoteric, albeit sophisticated, style has arguably challenged its domestic dominance and its international acceptance.

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Lincoln-Douglas debate

Main article: Lincoln-Douglas debate

Lincoln-Douglas debate, a form of United States high school debate named after the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, has two participants who compete against each other over a set resolution focused on philosophical values. Most cases are centered on a core value and a value criterion, with the value representing the highest concept that can be achieved under a given resolution and the criterion being the best way to achieve or measure the value.

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Simulated legislature

High school debate events such as Student Congress, Model United Nations, European Youth Parliament, Junior State of America and the American Legion's Boys State and Girls State events are activities which are based on the premise of the contestants acting as representatives in a mock legislative body.

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Moot court

Moot court (simulating appellate advocacy) and Mock trial (usually simulating criminal trials) competitions for law school, undergraduate, and (in some regions) high school students are held throughout the United States and Australia.

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Other forms of debate

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Online debating

With the increasing popularity and availability of the Internet to people, different opinions arise frequently. This paved the way for more formal debating websites, typically in the form of online forums or bulletin boards. The debate style is interesting, as research and well thought out points and counterpoints are possible because of the obvious lack of time restraints (although practical time restraints usually are in effect, e.g., no more than 5 days between posts, etc.). Many people use this to strengthen their points, or drop their weaker opinions on things, many times for debate in formal debates (such as the ones listed above) or for fun arguments with friends. The ease-of-use and friendly environments make new debaters welcome to share their opinions in many communities. Examples of online debating websites are shown in the external links.

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U.S. presidential debates

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Since the 1976 general election, debates between presidential candidates have been a part of U.S. presidential campaigns. Unlike debates sponsored at the high school or collegiate level, the participants, format, and rules are not independently defined. Nevertheless, in a campaign season heavily dominated by television advertisements, talk radio, sound bites, and spin, they still offer a rare opportunity for citizens to see and hear the two major candidates side-by-side. The format of the presidential debates, though defined differently in every election, is typically more restrictive than many traditional formats, forbidding participants to ask each other questions and restricting discussion of particular topics to short time frames.

The presidential debates were initially moderated in 1976, 1980, 1984 by the League of Women Voters, but The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) was established in 1987 by the Republicans and Democrats to "ensure that debates, as a permanent part of every general election, provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners. Its primary purpose is to sponsor and produce debates for the United States presidential and vice presidential candidates and to undertake research and educational activities relating to the debates. The organisation, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation, sponsored all the presidential debates in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004." However, in announcing its withdrawal from sponsoring the debates, the League of Women Voters stated that it was withdrawing "because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter." In 2004, the Citizens' Debate Commission was formed in the hope of establishing an independent sponsor for presidential debates, with a more voter-centric role in the definition of the participants, format, and rules.

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Debate and argumentation theory

All forms of debate, whether consciously or not, make certain assumptions about argumentation theory. The core concept of argumentation theory is the notion of advocacy. In most cases, at least one side in a debate needs to maintain the 'truth' of some proposition or advocate some sort of personal or political change or action. A debate could also potentially be between two or more competing propositions or actions. Or debate could also be a purely performative exercise of charisma and emotion with no assumption of fixed advocacy, but it would possibly lose much of its coherence and educational value. On the other hand, evolving and changing advocacies or no advocacies at all might be liberating and permit true advancement and understanding through debate. The variety of different debate forms and activities have different understandings about the nature and limits of advocacy, and different activities have different expectations about whether argumentation theory in relation to advocacy can be challenged within a competitive debate.

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See also

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External links

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