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1.1 Why Study Debate?
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Societies grow, flourish, decay or disappear as the result of decisions and actions taken or not taken by their members. Leaders who persuade, community members who influence others, and individuals who introduce new ideas all contribute to the directions their societies take. Because individuals live in societies, differences among those individuals inevitably will cause disagreement among societal members. As a consequence, societies invent rules about how to settle disputes and about what arguments are deemed most effective during that process.
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Some rules are formally codified with strict regulations, such as procedures used in court systems, government legislations, or legal hearings. Skilled, ethical debaters can use those venues to promote healthier societies; poor or unethical debaters can contribute to the erosion of social bonds and the fracture of societies. Because of this central role of persuasion in societies and because of the need for excellent debaters to engage these formal social procedures, the study of debate is vital to all individuals and also to the civilizations in which they live. Studying debate by enacting simulations of justice systems and courtroom protocols constitutes the practice of educational debate, which trains participants for these essential social roles.
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Contributing to society also is a reason to study debate. Debate trains students to contribute to their societies by creating cogent, formal arguments presented in public settings. While educational debate does not usually deal with informal situations, many experienced debaters learn to distinguish key features about the practice of debate, features beneficial to informal settings. Studying debate, then, benefits society both in formal, public arenas as well as in informal, personal ones.
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Debating features argument, so learning to understand the nature of argument is yet another reason to study debate. As it is used in everyday talk, the word “argument” may prompt readers to think of raised voices and uncomfortable feelings—“I had an argument with my friend” or “My office mate and I have been arguing all day.” In these cases, when people refer to arguments, they often mean heated exchanges where speakers act at odds with one another.
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In this textbook, however, a different meaning for argument is used. The study of argument is the study of one of many means people use to influence or persuade one another. If a person says, “The sun is shining and the birds are singing! This is certainly a great day,” he or she has created an argument. The claim in the argument is that the day is “certainly a great” one. The evidence presented concerns the sun and birds. A listener might agree or disagree with this person’s argument. Viewed from this perspective, argument occurs in nearly every message sent between individuals.
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Social rules govern these arguments. In both formal and informal instances, social rules apply not only to the way a person acts while presenting an argument, but also to the structure of the argument itself. These social rules indicate to both arguers how to critique the argument including such issues as credibility, sufficiency, or believability.
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Thinking about argument in these ways rather than merely as a heated spat more clearly identifies why learning to debate ethically and skillfully is so critical to a society. How effectively a person uses the tools of argument can determine whether or not the argument is seen as having merit: “The argument was not believable because the criminal took the position that everyone has a right to steal anything they desire” or “You bring up a good argument regarding the cost of this project, one that had not occurred to me” or “The argument did not persuade me because no evidence was provided.” This way of understanding “argument” sets up the possibility for debaters to learn and then practice principles for selecting excellent argument and debate tools, using those tools well to develop appropriate debate techniques, and improving their abilities to successfully persuade others.
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Studying debate also means learning to use these principles of argument, principles designed to engage the integrity of the idea and also to persuade the listener. The study of debate prepares students to examine an argument not with the intent to recall who said what to whom or to cast blame on another’s character, but with the intent of locating the key points of dispute on both sides of any question and then devising good arguments from that information. This skill prepares students to engage the inevitable disputes that arise in a society.
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Another reason to study debate is to learn to differentiate between 1) arguing simply to win and 2) arguing to gain understanding of a complex conflict toward influencing others to that understanding. Debating with good arguments does not mean both parties will end in agreement regarding the dispute. During the debate or after a decision has been made, disputants using good arguments may still disagree in significant measure with each other’s positions about the question or about the final decision. However, if their debate was an excellent one, it will have spelled out important issues for each side, points of agreement and disagreement between parties, and other relevant information. Clarifying problems that separate disputants allows this process to highlight important clashes within the issues rather than muddling around in issues of misunderstanding. If the two parties clarify their positions in the debate, propose policies or explanations, and argue their positions without reaching an agreement, they may engage the service of an adjudicator, a third party who will render a decision.
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So even if agreement is not reached after arguments were traded between two disputants, debate reaps benefits. The debate may illuminate new ideas about how to move forward. These key features—the explication of each disputant’s position and the generation of new information for each side to consider—constitute one of the greatest values of debate and one of the most important reasons to study debate. Those key features contained in the arguments chosen by the disputants provide all parties with the essential information needed to form an immediate decision and also to find alternative decisions if necessary.
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The study of argument does not mean ensuring agreement during disputes nor does it mean an excellent debater enters the dispute to “beat an opponent.” Authors of this textbook believe that rather than debating for the singular purpose of besting an opponent, excellent students learn to debate well for the purpose of comprehensively persuading listeners to their well reasoned side of an argument toward the goal of generating and arguing for the most excellent ways to manage difficult disputes. This textbook promotes the position that individuals pursue the study of argument to become more effective citizens; to forward a collective good; to learn to persuade ethically; and to learn useful, effective ways to enhance the decision-making process during a dispute.
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Educational debate uses an adjudicator and deals primarily with the more formal argument settings, so one last reason to study debate is to widen students’ knowledge of world affairs. Educational debate usually focuses on large, social problems such as water rights, environmental abuse, government policies and the like. Deciding whether to construct a new school or increase taxes or change a policy dealing with waste products all require scrutiny of the problem for good arguments on both sides of the question. Students studying debate learn how best to structure arguments for and against various issues and also learn the nature of arguments used by various cultures in various settings.
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An excellent debate—that is, one that outlines the vital issues on both sides and presents good reasons for each position—constitutes the most productive way people can make decisions about difficult questions. An excellent debate improves possibilities for making the best decisions. Studying debate means preparing to engage the various disputes that arise around the world with the goal of discovering and arguing for the best decisions for the best reasons.
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Lawyers, mayors, school board officials, parents, farmers, physicians, employees, employers, artists, children, presidents—all individuals need to be able to think critically, use principles of argument, listen carefully, respond ethically and appropriately, and speak effectively because all individuals use arguments in decision-making. The reasons for studying debate and the value of developing debating skills, then, derive from the social need—at the individual level, the community level, and the societal level—to effectively manage individual and group disputes.
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1.2 An Historical Look at Argumentation and Debate in China and the United States
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In all societies individuals create arguments in some fashion and answer or attempt to answer arguments made in return. The nature of those arguments constitutes the fundamental basis of debate. The nature of argument and the function of debate vary from culture to culture but usually include standards of some kind that must be met to achieve persuasion. Although the world is quickly moving to points of view based on a global perspective rather than only on the national perspectives that have so long been in place, local or cultural standards continue to exist and exert powerful influences on individuals. Cultures develop standards for how to determine credibility, how to create a logical explanation, how to design a dynamic example, and so on. A look at a society’s history can reveal what that society has deemed important and also what a society identifies as effective arguments. Such a chronological perspective could help present-day arguers understand how their own society has viewed arguments, decision-making, and dispute management.
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Before students begin to learn terms, definitions, and explanations about the debate process, they can benefit from examining a brief outline of the different ways societies in China and in the United States historically have dealt with argument, decision-making, and dispute management—that is, argument and debate. Such an outline of two great societies provides students with two models and therefore a wider perspective. Since the outlines are very brief, students will be exposed to only a brief glimpse of historical context, however, students may use works in the cited bibliographies to extend their understandings.
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Students can locate good reasons for the commonalities that occur between the two societies as well as good reasons on both sides for differences that appear. Students may locate differences and similarities in the conceptualization of the ideas of dispute and argument and in the social rules enacted to respond to those disputes and theories of argument. In short, students can learn intricacies of how societies use debate. These histories provide points of reference from which students can more astutely engage their own studies of debate and better understand the global contexts for the debate process.
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1.2.1 Argumentation and Debate in China
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In Rhetoric in Ancient China, Fifth to Third Century B.C.E.: A Comparison with Classical Greek Rhetoric, Lu (1998: 35) argues that understanding the part played by argument and debate historically embedded in Chinese society can best be achieved by taking a “holistic and contextualized” approach. Lu (1998: 35) explains that Chinese scholars do not separate or systematize these important qualities of human interactions as do some Western scholars because the qualities exist as a larger “constellation” that includes features such as art, philosophical stances, religion, ethical positions, political stratagems, and human relationships. Lu writes that the high value and importance of argument and debate—concepts subsumed within the realm of rhetoric—are evident throughout China’s history.
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1.2.1.1 Argumentation in China Men of letters representing Confucianism, Taoism, and the rest of “the Hundred Schools of Thoughts” in the Spring and Autumn Period and during the Warring States Period debated and competed with each other. In these debates, some itinerant scholars advocated original and substantiated expressions. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wang Chong called for clarity and a direct reasoning method that promoted drawing inferences and conclusions from verified evidence. Wang also attacked the then current style of slavishly imitating the ancients(Wu, 2007: 185-186). Chen Kui from the Southern Song Dynasty in Rules of Writing, which is considered the earliest rhetorical work in China, identified the general overriding principle that language should be simple, clear, succinct and contemporary. Thus, content should be primary and form should be subordinate to content (Kirkpatrick and Xu, 2012).
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Later scholars such as Gui Youguang in the Ming Dynasty echoed their advocacy by proposing thesis layouts similar to those in the Western style (Sun, 2001: 43-49). In modern China, Hu Shi pioneered the Vernacular Chinese movement with eight principles in striking similarity to Chen Kui’s advocacy, which was influenced by Huxley and Dewey (Zhang and Cai, 2013: 186).
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These few examples of Chinese scholars and practitioners discussing argument—its functions, uses, and forms, etc.—demonstrate the rich heritage of the role of argument in China. How arguments have been used in government proceedings and in social movements across China can be traced by examining the uses of debate over the centuries.
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