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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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1.2.1.2 Debate in China In addition to the study of argument, debate also has played important roles in the history of China, none more prolific than during a Golden Age of Chinese philosophy. This prolific era for debate included the turbulent Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) when itinerant persuaders advised state kings on issues of war strategies and diplomacy. In this era, known as the Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thoughts, free discussions of thoughts and philosophies flourished. Scholars representing Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, Monism and many other schools of thoughts debated with each other and competed for supremacy, until Confucianism became a dominant state philosophy and cultural ideology at the time of Emperor Wu (156-87 BC) (Denecke, 2011: 38).
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Great societal debates occurred during the New Culture Movement period in China at the beginning of the 20th century. Eminent scholars such as Chen Duxiu, Cai Yuanpei, Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, and Hu Shi called for the abandonment of the use of Confucian texts and ancient classics, exhorting these texts should be replaced with modern textual and critical methods. Spearheaded by Hu Shi, the New Culture Movement scholars also initiated the Vernacular Chinese Movement to replace classical Chinese in writing. These intellectuals actively debated issues of science, technology, individualism, philosophy and democracy. These debates brought changes to Chinese cultural values and practices. For example, Chen Duxiu claimed that only science and democracy could save China from its politics, morality, academics and ideology (Li, 1997: 3). The New Culture movement also led both to rebellion against the idea that traditional marriage be dictated by respective parents rather than marriage as arranged by the partners themselves. Similarly, rebellion was activated in support of emancipation for women from the bondage of illiteracy and from having no choice but to perform all home chores (Wei, 2004: 21-25).
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Another milestone era in the history of China during which debate played an important role in influencing the nation’s direction began with the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 1978. The Third Plenary Session repudiated the Cultural Revolution, ended mass class struggle, marked the beginning of the Reform and Opening-Up policy, and channeled social resources into economic development. Those in the Session called upon the nation “to emancipate minds, seek truths from facts and unite as one in looking into the future” (Song, 2008: 21-22).
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An article, “Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Truth Examination,” was published in the Guangming Daily in May, 1978 and triggered a nationwide discussion and debate about the appropriate criteria to be used for testing truth. Although contested, the majority of CPC party members and the masses reacted to the arguments presented in this article by supporting the viewpoint expressed in its title. This large, societal debate thus helped shatter the bond between the prevalent cult of personality and the ideological guidelines of these “two whatevers” (Ye, 2008: 157): “We will resolutely uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave” (Zhang, 2007: 4).
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Currently in China, societal-based debate flourishes on television and in newspapers as well in various social media such as Weibo, Wechat, Zhihu, Liba, Tianya, etc. One of the clearest examples of media inciting societal debate involves the 2006 case of Peng Yu who discovered a 65-year-old woman who had fallen in the street. Peng Yu took the woman to the hospital and then paid her medical bill. Following this incident, Peng Yu was successfully sued for $7,000 in medical expenses. The judge suspected him of having caused the woman’s fall based on the “common sense” reasoning that there could be no other reason why Peng Yu had paid the woman’s medical bill.
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The Peng Yu Case was one of the most famous judicial verdicts in recent Chinese history (Song, 2008: 21-22). China’s newspapers and websites hosted nationwide discussions and debates on the justice or injustice done to Peng Yu. The public expressed outrage about the verdict of “guilty” based on “common sense” and the judge’s rationale for the verdict. Tweets and posts on social media in China went beyond the question of whether Peng Yu was a martyred Good Samaritan or not, and led to a national reflection on the judicial role in promoting or degrading social morality.
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Other current topics also occupy spaces within public debate in Chinese society. The College Entrance Examination, known as Gaokao1, generates active, ongoing public discussion and presently is being reformed. The abolition or adjustment of the one-child policy also has become a concern because of the aging population in China. The Internet provides yet another social debate: Does the civic engagement offered by internet development for voices in all circles outweigh the rancor and brawling displayed by some netizens—citizens active in online communication—in social media sites?
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These topics and others circulate among the populace and provide important opportunities for skilled debaters to practice dispute management by contributing sound arguments on both sides of the questions before weighing a decision. Toward creating arenas for students to gain these skills, China has developed programs of educational debate where students come together with other students in other colleges and universities to develop more sophisticated understandings of argument and the art of debate, learn from experience, and practice skills that can enhance their own lives and also improve ways to manage disputes in their society. A discussion of educational debate will follow a brief review of social argument and debate in the United States.
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1.2.2 Argumentation and Debate in the United States
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In the United States, rhetoric—and more specifically argument—is studied as the basic tool used in debate. Rhetoric and philosophy often are closely intertwined. For this discussion “rhetoric” is broadly defined as all symbolic methods of persuasion. While persuasion often is conceived of as an overt attempt to influence or move the listener, rhetoric encompasses those less overt messages as well. For example, “Please change your vote to support our candidate because she is honest” is easily recognizable as a persuasive statement that gives the listener a reason to vote for this candidate. However, “The weather is colder here than usual” carries a less visible, but also persuasive appeal; the speaker has established a claim with which others may or may not agree. These two statements provide only two examples of persuasion.
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“Argumentation” in Western scholarship is a particular kind of rhetoric that involves the use of reason as the primary means of persuasion. Thus, when a person’s persuasion involves the use of reasoned communication, that person is said to be presenting arguments. The study of argument and the attending concepts is called “argumentation.” Western theories about arguments—their functions, their structures, and their uses—have evolved from the inception of rhetoric in Greece more than two thousand years ago until today. A short history of the development of rhetoric, argument, and debate demonstrates the high value placed on these concepts by United States society.
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1.2.2.1 Argumentation in the United States Western rhetoric developed from the need for individuals in the ancient Greco-Roman culture to present their legal complaints to a judge or jury in a court of law. Many scholars identify Corax and Tisias (both 5th century BC) as the inventors of rhetoric. Corax developed methods of persuasion to be used in courts of law and taught students his theories that undergirded the later development of probability. Corax used only speaking and teaching to dispense his ideas, but his students, and in particular Tisias, produced written notes which were sold in Sicily and eventually circulated back to Greece. Ultimately, a handbook about argument and public speaking evolved. Both Plato (427-347 BC) and Socrates(469-399 BC), whose works were far more widely influential, later referred to Tisias’s theories of argument (Kennedy, 1999).
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Although rhetoric—including argumentation—was not his primary topic, Aristotle (384-322 BC) contributed significantly to the history of rhetoric by formulating categories, advocating a philosophical viewpoint citing the importance of arguing both sides of a question, and discussing the relationship between rhetoric and dialectic. Unlike his teacher, Plato, Aristotle did not conceptualize dialectic as an inquiry toward truth (Kennedy, 1999). He saw rhetoric as an art, an offshoot of dialectic and he defined rhetoric as “the faculty of discovering in the particular case all the available means of persuasion” (Cooper, 1960). Aristotle indicated that some forms of proof were “non-artistic,” such as contracts or written documents. “Artistic” proofs, however, did rely on the artistry of the orator, relying on “a man who can reason logically, can analyze the types of human character (ethe), along with the virtues, and, thirdly, can analyze the emotions…” (Cooper, 1960).
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