Is boyfriend-girlfriend quarrel a debate?

(Excerpted from the speech delivered by the author as guest speaker in the launching of a debate society of a university in Quezon City, Philippines on August 25, 2006)

… ACADEMIC DEBATE is not synonymous to ‘ordinary conversation’, pagtatalo ng magkasintahan, pagtatalo ng mag-ina and pilosopohan ng magbabarkada. What makes academic debate different from these forms of conversation is the presence of at least five (5) elements:

I. Proposition - the issue or topic to be discussed

Some of the features that need to be present in a statement for it to be considered as a proposition in a debate are:

            A) It must contain only one topic (and the topic should not change throughout the debate).

This is one of the reasons why ordinary conversation does not qualify as debate. In ordinary conversation, as we all know, topic shifts and even branches out. The topic in pagtatalo ng magboyfriend likewise shifts—that it may start with the guy’s being late in the date and end up with his infidelity in the past which he adamantly denies.

          Similarly, pagtatalo ng mag-ina may begin with argumentation about who should wash the dishes and conclude with the daughter’s untimely romantic engagement with, let say, a ‘seminarian’.

            B) It must be controversial or debatable. ‘Propositions’ like, “Resolved that, Triangle has three sides” or that, “Man is spelled m-a-n” are good only for aliens perhaps. In Logic, there are statements called  ‘tautologies’. Tautology is always true but oftentimes not worth saying, much less becoming a proposition in an academic debate.

            C) It must always be in the affirmative form that the burden of proof is on the affirmative side.

‘Proposition’ like “Patutunayan ko na walang Sta. Claus” is not a good proposition, for the burden of proof should primarily be on the side of the one who wants to prove that there is Sta. Claus. On the other hand, the proposition, “Patutunayan ko na ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika ay hindi higit sa hayop at hindi malansang isda,” does not only confuse the debaters on who should take the burden of proof, but also leaves everyone else guessing what the topic really is. Lesson learned: Fill the proposition with negative terms and the debate will become a stand-up comedy!

II. Presence of two opposing views

This is self-explanatory. Even crazy people probably would not engage in a debate on a particular topic on which they have the same stand. No opposing views, no debate. Technically, a discussion is as well not an academic debate if on a specific issue, there are more than two (2) various views. That is the case with pilosopohan ng magbabarkada—in a single issue, aside from the extreme views, the positive and the negative, there are usually middle grounds. ‘In-between’ positions in academic debate call for another independent debate.

III. Form or format

Two (2) of the most common forms of debate are the (1) Traditional or Oxford debate, particularly the Oxford-Oregon, and the (2) Parliamentary form of debate. In due time, you will be introduced to the rules and procedures of these forms of debates.

            Experiences taught me the lesson that it is a must for a debater to be familiar with the rules of the debate. A good debater must also know how to exploit even the rules of the debate in convincing the judges that his team deserves to win. “Winning by technicality” is winning nevertheless! After all, academic debate is just a contest, and so here, winning, oftentimes, is everything.

IV. The presence of a moderator

The role to be played by the moderator requires him to be neutral or unbiased. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to look for a person who is genuinely non-partisan and we have no conclusive yardstick to determine whether or not a certain moderator is unprejudiced.

Whenever I am appointed to train and coach the university’s representatives in debate competitions, I just wish that the moderator would be fair enough—or if he is partial, I just wish that he would be biased on our side…

V. Time element

Related article/s:

Is academic debate the same as religious debate?

How to cite this article:

Jensen DG. Mañebog. “A Lecture on Academic Debate.” @ http://www.OurHappySchool.com