Why Debate?

[AgnosticBoy]

I wanted to discuss debating because it is a big part of our discussions here. Here is a well articulated view on debating from a member:

interesting. I very much agree. It is for this reason that I have so little interest in debate as a way to investigate a subject. Two people focused on what is true in their experience with appropriate epistemically humility is better than two people representing opposing views willing to go to any length to play up the strengths of their side while diminishing those on the other side isn’t worth doing.

Let's all discuss it.

What do you like or dislike about debate?

We can also talk about good debates that you've seen and why you liked it.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

I gotta agree with Mark D, in that a lot of debates amount to two people just wanting to satisfy their egos. One of my goals is to put standards in place to reduce some of these negatives.

Some positives of debate are that it's a way to test your views. The weaknesses are discovered, and you can use this to make your view stronger by weeding out the weaknesses or revising your view. I also like a good engaging debate where both sides are able to show that they are good at logical thinking. This doesn't necessarily impact the validity of arguments, because you can be a good debater without having a valid position. Just my thoughts.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

I used to watch old Kung Fu movies with a relative when I was a young child. I noticed how the main character was confident in his fighting style and went around challenging others. Well, I feel that way towards debating.

In an intellectual context (as opposed to a fight), a person's philosophy will play a big role in how one thinks and approach. I feel so confident about my philosophy (agnosticism) because it is open enough to discover any truth, while being critical enough to weed out errors or it leads me to suspend judgement. With that said, I enjoy going around to see how my agnosticism interacts with atheists and Christians. We are all supposed to use logic and evidence, but we tend to differ when it comes to our levels and/or types of skepticism and when it comes to our psychological maintenance (at least as it relates to intellectual matters), like dealing with biases, weeding out unproven beliefs, dogma, etc.