I will be in a "debate" tomorrow

[GNM1999]

Close! Civics and Economics. Basically the same though.

 

[Rau]

One that wants to make you think about difficult and complex questions and see if you understand both sides of the debate. Sounds like an ethics class to me.

A debate may be unlikely to achieve that on a subject that is emotionally charged and where personal beliefs often dictate position. Debates often polarize issues.

And it was a class on civics and economics… Does this not suggest the context of the arguments that ought to apply?

 

[Bradski]

A debate may be unlikely to achieve that on a subject that is emotionally charged and where personal beliefs often dictate position. Debates often polarize issues.

There’s not much point in a debate if everyone agrees on the subject matter. And to teach people how to listen and appreciate someone else’s viewpoint it is good practice to ask someone to debate from a position that they personally don’t hold.

 

[Gregory_Olson]

A debate may be unlikely to achieve that on a subject that is emotionally charged and where personal beliefs often dictate position. Debates often polarize issues.

To be honest this has been my experience when debating these kinds of subjects as well.

However, if you’ve ever read Rome Sweet Home, Scott Hahn came around to the Catholic faith largely through debating, because he was able to keep and open mind and think things through rationally while talking about similarly emotionally charged issues. So I’m not going to deny that a debate can be productive if done right. Hopefully GNM1999’s professor knows his stuff.