what is the point of debates? - Page 3

Originally posted by: Jatayu

Debating is a worthless exercise for the following reasons:

1. It serves no purpose other than throw up a lot of heat and dust eg. scenes in the true home of living democracy - the Indian Parliament;

2. It hardens the other's mind and forces non-acceptance of the opposing ideas just for the heck of it eg. UN vs George W. Bush;

3. Even of any sort of consensus is reached, there is no assurance that it will be backed by action - ergo waste of time eg. the Mogadishu fiasco during the Somalian civil war;

4. Never in world history have the real tricky issues been sorted out by debate. War and conflict has been the only real and acceptable solution eg Kauravs vs Pandavas, Rome vs everybody else, Church vs Galileo and Hitler vs the Human Race.

I see that nobody has argued against any of these points .....

Originally posted by: Jatayu

I see that nobody has argued against any of these points .....

ok here goes. debating is a bit like selling. u're never going to be able to convince the skeptics and u're going to be silly if u try. but in every market, every audience, there are people who are either pre-disposed to buying your product or into your point-of-view, or others who are neutral/ independent/ dont-know-types who can come around if given good talking points. point of selling and debates is to reach the folks u can reach, never mind the rest of the jokers.

in that regard, the dont-know folks are the lazy ones who're probably too dumb to think for themselves and need ideas served on a hot TV-ready platter. good debating points/ sales pitches can help them get off the couch into your showroom.

a good pitch is also a morale-booster and confidence-builder for your team and keeps them on your side. it helps them feel a lil less silly for having the opinions they do have.

so there we are- debates help!😊

Edited by chatbuster - 17 years ago

I was going to make a new thread on Why You Should Debate? What is the purpose of it? but then I remembered that there was a similar thread on the same so bumping it.😛.

Originally posted by: abhijit shukla

Actually Jatayu ji, I did make points on the thread that present a different POV than yours. Debating has helped me learn more about world around me and about myself.

Nice thread.. jatayu puts up a debate for and against. (playing chess by himself) . Then Dr AS sums it all and still bumps it to be further bumped by my fav MM?  there is nothing left to say for me 😆.. Yey!! If  required, I will just bum it again.. 😆

Originally posted by: mermaid_QT

Nice thread.. jatayu puts up a debate for and against. (playing chess by himself) . Then Dr AS sums it all and still bumps it to be further bumped by my fav MM?  there is nothing left to say for me 😆.. Yey!! If  required, I will just bum it again.. 😆

And now I concur to everything Cutie wrote here😃. I sometimes debate just for fun. There are times when I have debated without actually not having to do anything with the topic. I like the Chess game too😉. I totally agree with Doc too.

2 points I just thought of -

Too much tv watching is not good anyway and since I cannot give up my sedentary life style (after work), online debate is one way to keep the north pole active.

It is better to argue certain issues with online friends rather than getting into a real fight with soul mate over petty issues. He can always peep in and say "smart things" but I can easily focus more on replying to someone else rather than him .. What a peaceful arrangement!! 😆

Originally posted by: mermaid_QT

2 points I just thought of -

Too much tv watching is not good anyway and since I cannot give up my sedentary life style (after work), online debate is one way to keep the north pole active.

It is better to argue certain issues with online friends rather than getting into a real fight with soul mate over petty issues. He can always peep in and say "smart things" but I can easily focus more on replying to someone else rather than him .. What a peaceful arrangement!! 😆

😆 😆 😆

What A Nice Idea.. 👏 😆 Thanks.. 😆

"What is the point of debates?"

In answering this, I quote (in English) from a Bengali poem by Raja Ram Mohun Roy:

"Just consider how terrible the day of your death will be.
Others will go on speaking, and you will not be able to argue back."

Originally posted by: serialbuff

"What is the point of debates?"

In answering this, I quote (in English) from a Bengali poem by Raja Ram Mohun Roy:

"Just consider how terrible the day of your death will be.
Others will go on speaking, and you will not be able to argue back."

👏👏

Debates give us the opportunity to understand different point of views from different set of people. During the debates process we may concur with the other person's point of view or become more sure about our POV. Debates helps us in arriving at a decision in our mind in regard to a particular subject. Debates enhances the thinking power of an individual. In all Debates aache hai... 😊