ELEMENTS OF DEBATING
A Manual for Use in High Schools and Academies
By
LEVERETT S. LYON
Head of the Department of Civic Science in the Joliet Township High School
1919
PREFACE
This book pretends but little to originality in material. Its aim is
to offer the old in a form that shall meet the needs of young students
who are beginning work in debate. The effort has been made only to
present the elements of forensic work so freed from technicality that
they may be apparent to the student with the greatest possible economy
of time and the least possible interpretation by the teacher.
It is hoped that the book may serve not only those schools where
debating is a part of the regular course, but also those institutions
where it is a supplement to the work in English or is encouraged as a
"super-curriculum" activity.
Although the general obligation to other writers is obvious, there is
no specific indebtedness not elsewhere acknowledged, except to Mr.
Arthur Edward Phillips, whose vital principle of "Reference to
Experience" has, in a modified form, been made the test for evidence.
It is my belief that the use of this principle, rather than the
logical and technical forms of proof and evidence, will make the
training of debate far more applicable in other forms of public
speaking. My special thanks are due to Miss Charlotte Van Der Veen and
Miss Elizabeth Barns, whose aid has added technical exactness to
almost every page. I wish to thank also Miss Bella Hopper for
suggestions in preparing the reference list of Appendix I. Most of
all, I am indebted to the students whose interest has been a constant
stimulus, and whose needs have been to me, as they are to all who
teach, the one sure and constant guide.
L.S.L.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LESSONS
I. WHAT ARGUMENTATION IS
II. WHAT DEBATE IS
III. THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL DEBATING
IV. DETERMINING THE ISSUES
V. HOW TO PROVE THE ISSUES
VI. THE BRIEF. THE CHOICE AND USE OF EVIDENCE
VII. THE FORENSIC
VIII. REFUTATION
IX. MANAGEMENT OF THE DEBATE
X. A SUMMARY AND A DIAGRAM
APPENDICES
I. HOW AND WHERE TO READ FOR MORE INFORMATION
II. ILLUSTRATIONS OF ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE THE ISSUES OF THE QUESTION
III. A TYPICAL COLLEGE FORENSIC
IV. MATERIAL TOR BRIEFING
V. QUESTIONS WITH SUGGESTED ISSUES AND BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY
VI. A LIST OF DEBATABLE PROPOSITIONS
VII. FORMS FOR JUDGES' DECISION
LESSON I
WHAT ARGUMENTATION IS
I. The purpose of discourse
II. The forms of discourse:
1. Narration
2. Description
3. Exposition
4. Argumentation
When we pause to look about us and to realize what things are really
going on, we discern that everyone is talking and writing. Perhaps we
wonder why this is the case. Nature is said to be economical. She
would hardly have us make so much effort and use so much energy
without some purpose, and some purpose beneficial to us. So we
determine that the purpose of using language is to convey meaning, to
give ideas that we have to someone else.
As we watch a little more closely, we see that in talking or writing
we are not merely talking or writing something. We see that everyone,
consciously or unconsciously, clearly or dimly, is always trying to do
some definite thing. Let us see what the things are which we may be
trying to do.
If you should tell your father, when you return from school, how
Columbus discovered America on October 12, 1492, and should try to
make him see the scene on shipboard when land was first sighted as
clearly as you see it, you would be describing. That kind of discourse
would be called description. Its purpose is to make another see in his
mind's eye the same image or picture that we have in our own.
On the other hand, if you wished to tell him the story of the
discovery of America, you would do something quite different. You
would tell him not only of the first sight of land, but of the whole
series of incidents which led up to that event. If he could follow you
readily, could almost live through the various happenings that you
related, you would be telling your story well. That kind of discourse
is not description but narration.
Suppose, then, that your father should say: "Now tell me this: What is
the difference between the discovery of America and the colonization
of America?" You would now have a new task. You would not care to make
him see any particular scene or live through the events of discovery
but to make him _understand something which you understand_. You would
show him that the discovery of America meant merely the fact that
America was found to be here, but that colonization meant the coming,
not of the explorers, but of the permanent settlers. This form of
discourse which makes clear to someone else an idea that is already
clear to us is called exposition.
And now suppose your father should say: "Well, you have told me a
great deal which I may say is interesting enough, but it seems to me
rather useless. What is the purpose of all this study? Why have you
spent so much time learning of this one event?" You would of course
answer: "Because the discovery of America was an event of great
importance."
He might reply: "I still do not believe that." Then you would say:
"I'll prove it to you," or, "I'll convince you of it." You would then
have undertaken to do what you are now trying to learn how to do
better--to argue. _For argumentation is that form of discourse that we
use when we attempt to make some one else believe as we wish him to
believe._ "Argumentation is the art of producing in the mind of
someone else a belief in the ideas which the speaker or writer wishes
the hearer or reader to accept."[1]
You made use of argumentation when you urged a friend to take the
course in chemistry in your school by trying to make him believe it
would be beneficial to him. You used argumentation when you urged a
friend to join the football squad by trying to make him believe, as
you believe, that the exercise would do him good. A minister uses
argumentation when he tries to make his congregation believe, as he
believes, that ten minutes spent in prayer each morning will make the
day's work easier. The salesman uses argumentation to sell his goods.
The chance of the merchant to recover a rebate on a bill of goods that
he believes are defective depends entirely on his ability to make the
seller believe the same thing. On argumentation the lawyer bases his
hope of making the jury believe that his client is innocent of crime.
All of us every day of our lives, in ordinary conversation, in our
letters, and in more formal talks, are trying to make others believe
as we wish them to believe. Our success in so doing depends upon our
skill in the art of argumentation.
SUGGESTED EXERCISES
1. Out of your study or reading of the past week, give an illustration
of: (1) narration; (2) description; (3) exposition; (4) argumentation.
2. During the past week, on what occasions have you personally made
use of: (1) narration; (2) description; (3) exposition; (4)
argumentation?
3. Explain carefully the distinction between description and
exposition. In explaining this distinction, what form of discourse
have you used?
4. Define argumentation.
5. Skill in argumentation is a valuable acquisition for:
(Give three reasons).
(1)__________________________________________________
(2)__________________________________________________
(3)__________________________________________________
LESSON II
WHAT DEBATE IS
I. The forms of argumentation:
1. Written.
2. Oral.
II. The forms of oral argumentation:
1. General discussion.
2. Debate.
III. The qualities of debate:
1. Oral.
2. Judges present.
3. Prescribed conditions.
4. Decision expected.
Now, since we have decided upon a definition of argumentation, let us
see what we mean by the term "debate" as it will be used in this work.
We have said that argumentation is the art of producing in the mind of
someone a belief in something in which we wish him to believe.
Now it is obvious that this can be accomplished in different ways.
Perhaps the most common method of attempting to bring someone to
believe as we wish is the oral method. On your way to school you meet
a friend and assert your belief that in the coming football game the
home team will win. You continue: "Our team has already beaten teams
that have defeated our opponent of next Saturday, and, moreover, our
team is stronger than it has been at any time this season." When you
finish, your friend replies: "I believe you are right. We shall win."
You have been carrying on oral argumentation.
If, when you had finished, your friend had not agreed with you, your
effort would have been none the less argumentation, only it would have
been unsuccessful. If you had written the same thing to your friend in
a letter, your letter would have been argumentative.
Suppose your father were running for an office and should make a
public speech. If he tried to make the audience believe that the best
way to secure lower taxes, better water, and improved streets would be
through his election, he would be making use of oral argumentation. If
he should do the same thing through newspaper editorials, he would be
using written argumentation.
Argumentation, then, may be carried on either in writing or orally,
and may vary from the informality of an ordinary conversation or a
letter to a careful address or thoughtful article.
What, then, is debate as we shall use the word in this work, and what
is the relation of argumentation to debate? The term "debate" in its
general use has, of course, many senses. You might say: "I had a
debate with a friend about the coming football game." Or your father
might say: "I heard the great Lincoln and Douglas debates before the
Civil War." Although both of you would be using the term as it is
generally used, you would not be using it as it will be used in this
book, or as it is best that a student of argumentation and debate
should use it.
The term "debate," in the sense in which students of these subjects
should use it, means _oral argumentation carried on by two opposing
teams under certain prescribed regulations, and with the expectation
of having a decision rendered by judges who are present_. This is
"debate" used, not generally, as you used it in saying, "I debated
with a friend," but technically, as we use it when we refer to the
Yale-Harvard debate or the Northern Debating League. In order to keep
the meaning of this term clearly in mind, use it only when referring
to such contests as these. In speaking of your argumentative
conversation with your friend or of the forensic contests between
Lincoln and Douglas, use the term "discussion" rather than "debate."
It is true that the controversy between Lincoln and Douglas conformed
to our definition of "debate" in being oral; moreover, at least in
sense, two teams (of one man each) competed, but there were no judges,
and no direct decision was rendered.
Since argumentation, then, is the art of producing in the mind of
someone else a belief in the idea or ideas you wish to convey, and
debate is an argumentative contest carried on orally under certain
conditions, it is clear that argumentation is the broader term of the
two and that debate is merely a specialized kind of argumentation.
Football is exercise, but there is exercise in many other forms.
Debate is argumentation, but one can also find argumentation in many
other forms.
The following diagram makes clear the work we have covered thus far.
It shows the relation between argumentation and debate, and shows that
the specialized term "debate" has the same relation to "discourse"
that "football" has to "exercise."
/ Miscellaneous
| Swimming
/ Play | Skating
Kinds of | | Rolling hoop / Other athletic games
exercise | \ Athletic games \ Football
|
|
\ Work
/ Description
Kinds of | Narration
discourse | Exposition
\ Argumentation / Written
\ Oral / General discussion
\ Debate
SUGGESTED EXERCISES
1. Be prepared to explain orally in class, as though to _someone who
did not know_, the difference between "argumentation" and "debate."
2. Set down three conditions that must exist before argumentation
becomes debate.
3. Have you ever argued? Orally? In writing?
4. Have you ever debated? Did you win?
5. Which is the broader term, "argumentation," or "debate?" Why?
6. Compose some sentences, illustrating the use of the terms "debate"
and "argumentation."
LESSON III
THE REQUIREMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL DEBATING
I. The three requirements stated.
II. How to make clear to the audience what one wishes
them to believe, by:
1. Stating the idea which one wishes to have accepted
in the form of a definite assertion, which is:
(1) Interesting.
(2) Definite and concise.
(3) Single in form.
(4) Fair to both sides.
2. Defining the "terms of the question" so that they
will be:
(1) Clear.
(2) Convincing.
(3) Consistent with the origin and history of the
question.
3. Restating the whole question in the light of the
definitions.
To debate successfully it is necessary to do three things:
1. To make perfectly clear to your audience what you wish them to
believe.
2. To show them why the proof of certain points (called issues) should
make them believe the thing you wish them to believe.
3. To prove the issues.
Each of these three things is a distinct process, involving several
steps. One is as important as another.
It is impossible to prove the issues until we have found them, but
equally impossible to show the audience what the issues are until we
have shown what the thing is which we wish those issues to support.
First, then, let us see what we mean by making perfectly clear what
you wish to have the audience believe.
Suppose that you should meet a friend who says to you: "I am going to
argue with you about examinations." You might naturally reply: "What
examinations?" If he should say, "All examinations: the honor system
in all examinations," you might very reasonably still be puzzled and
ask if by all examinations he meant examinations of every kind in
grade school, high school, and college, as well as the civil service
examinations, and what was meant by the honor system.
He would now probably explain to you carefully how several schools
have been experimenting with the idea of giving all examinations
without the presence of a teacher or monitor of any sort. During these
examinations, however, it has been customary to ask the students
themselves to report any cheating that they may observe. It is also
required that each student state in writing, at the end of his paper,
upon honor, that he has neither given nor received aid during the
test. "To this method," your friend continues, "has been given the
name of the honor system. And I believe that this system should be
adopted in all examinations in the Greenburg High School."
He has now stated definitely what he wishes to make you believe, and
he has done more; he has explained to you the meaning of the terms
that you did not understand. These two things make perfectly clear to
you what he wishes you to believe, and he has thus covered the first
step in argumentation.
From this illustration, then, several rules can be drawn. In the first
place your friend stated that he wished to argue about examinations.
Why could he not begin his argument at once? Because he had not yet
asked you to believe anything about examinations. He might have said,
"I am going to explain examinations," and he could then have told you
what examinations were. That would have been exposition. But he could
not _argue_ until he had made a definite assertion about the term
"examination."
Rule one would then be: State in the form of a definite assertion the
matter to be argued.
In order to be suitable for debating, an assertion or, as it is often
called, proposition, of this kind should conform to certain
conditions:
1. It should be one in which both the debaters and the audience are
interested. Failure to observe this rule has caused many to think
debating a dry subject.
2. It should propose something different from existing conditions.
Argument should have an end in view. Your school has no lunchroom.
Should it have one? Your city is governed by a mayor and a council.
Should it be ruled by a commission? Merely to debate, as did the men
of the Middle Ages, how many angels could dance on the point of a
needle, or, as some more modern debaters have done, whether Grant was
a greater general than Washington, is useless.
The fact that those on the affirmative side propose something new
places on them what is called the _burden of proof_. This means that
they must show why there is _need_ of a change from the present state
of things. When they have done this, they may proceed to argue in
favor of the _particular change_ which they propose.
3. It should make a single statement about a single thing:
(Correct) In public high schools secret societies should be
prohibited.
(Incorrect) In public high schools and colleges secret societies and
teaching of the Bible should be prohibited.
4. It must be expressed with such definiteness that both sides can
agree on what it means.
5. It must be expressed in such a way as to be fair to both sides.
But you noticed that your friend had not only to state the question
definitely, but to explain what the terms of the proposition meant. He
had to tell you what the "honor system" was.
Our second rule, then, for making the question clear, is: In the
proposition as stated, explain all terms that may not be entirely
clear to your audience.
And in explaining or defining these terms, there are certain things
that you must do. You must make the definition clear, or it will be no
better than the term itself. This is not always easy. In defining
"moral force" a gentleman said: "Why, moral force is er--er--moral
force." He did not get very far on the way toward making his term
clear. Be sure that your definition really explains the term.
Then one must be careful not to define in a circle. Let us take, for
example, the assertion or proposition, "The development of labor
unions has been beneficial to commerce." If you should attempt to
define "development" by saying "development means growth," you would
not have made the meaning of the term much clearer; and if in a
further attempt to explain it, you could only add "And growth means
development," you would be defining in a circle.
There is still another error to be avoided in making your terms clear
to your audience. This error is called begging the question. This
occurs when a term is defined in such a way that there is nothing left
to be argued.
Suppose your friend should say to you: "I wish to make you believe
that the honor system should be used in all examinations in the
Greenburg High School." You ask him what he means by the "honor
system." He replies: "I mean the best system in the world." Is there
anything left to argue? Hardly, if his definition of the term honor
system is correct, for it would be very irrational indeed to disagree
with the assertion that the best system in the world should be adopted
in the Greenburg High School.
To summarize: _Define terms carefully;_ make the definition clear; do
not define in a circle, and do not beg the question.
As you have already noticed, terms in argumentation, such as "honor
system," often consist of more than one word. They sometimes contain
several words. "A term [as that word is used in debating and
argumentation] may consist of any number of names, substantive or
objective, with the articles, prepositions, and conjunctions required
to join them together; still it is only one term if it points out or
makes us think of only one thing or object or class of objects."[2] In
such cases a dictionary is of little use. Take the term "honor
system," the meaning of which was not clear to you. A dictionary
offers no help. How is the student who wishes to discuss this question
to decide upon the meaning of the term? Notice how your friend made it
clear to you. He gave a history of the question that he wished to
argue. He showed how the term "honor system" came into use and what it
means where that system of examinations is in vogue. This, then, is
the only method of making sure of the meaning of a term: to study the
history of the question and see what the term means in the light of
that history. This method has the added advantage that a term defined
in this way will not only be entirely clear to your audience, but will
also tend to convince them.
A dispute may arise between yourself and an opponent as to the meaning
of a term. He may be relying on a dictionary or the statement of a
single writer, while you are familiar with the history of the
question. Under those circumstances it will be easy for you to show
the judges and the audience that, although he may be using the term
correctly in a general way, he is quite wrong when the special
question under discussion is considered.
To make this more clear, let us take a specific instance. Suppose that
you are debating the proposition, "Football Should Be Abolished in
This High School." Football, as defined in the dictionary, differs
considerably from the game with which every American boy is familiar.
Further, the dictionary defines both the English and the American
game. If your opponent should take either of these definitions, he
would not have much chance of convincing an American audience that it
was correct. Or if he should define football according to the rules of
the game as it was played five or ten years ago, he would be equally
ineffective.
You, on the other hand, announce that in your discussion you will use
the term "football" as that game is described in _Spaulding's present
year's rule book for the American game_, and that every reference you
make to plays allowed or forbidden will be on the basis of the latest
ruling. You then have a definition based on the history of the
question. As you can see, the case for or against English football
would be different from that of the American game. In the same way the
case for or against football as it was played ten years ago would be
very different from the case of football as it is played today.
All this does not mean that definitions found in dictionaries or other
works of reference are never good; it means simply that such
definitions should not be taken as final until the question has been
carefully reviewed. Try to think out for yourself the meaning of the
question. Decide what it involves and how it has arisen, or could
arise in real life. Then, when you do outside reading on the subject,
keep this same idea in mind. Keep asking yourself: "How did this
question arise? Why is it being discussed?" You will be surprised to
find that when you are ready to answer that question you will have
most of your reading done, for you will have read most of the
arguments upon it. Then you are ready to make it clear to the
audience.
When you have thus given a clear and convincing definition of all the
terms, it is a good plan to restate the whole question in the light of
those definitions.
For instance, notice the question of the "honor system." The original
question might have been concisely stated: "All Examinations in the
Greenburg High School Should Be Conducted under the Honor System."
After you have made clear what you mean by the "honor system," you
will be ready to restate the question as follows: "The question then
is this: No Teacher Shall Be Present during Any Examination in the
Greenburg High School, and Every Student Shall Be Required to State on
Honor That He Has Neither Given Nor Received Aid in the Examinations."
Your hearers will now see clearly what you wish them to believe.
Thus far, then, we have seen that to debate well we should have a
question which is of interest to ourselves and to the audience. The
first step toward success is to make clear to our hearers the
proposition presented for their acceptance. This may be done:
1) By stating the idea that we wish them to accept in the form of an
assertion, which should be:
a) interesting
b) definite and concise
c) single in form
d) fair to both sides
2) By defining the "terms of the question" so that they will be:
a) clear
b) convincing
c) consistent with the origin and history of the question
3) By restating the whole question in the light of our definitions.
SUGGESTED EXERCISES
1. State the three processes of successful debating.
2. What are the three necessary steps in the first process?
3. What qualities should a proposition for debate possess?
4. Give a proposition that you think has these qualities.
5. Without reference to books, define all the terms of this
proposition. Follow the rules but make the definitions as brief as
possible.
6. Make some propositions in which the following terms shall be used:
(1) "Athletics," (2) "This City," (3) "All Studies," (4) "Manual
Training," (5) "Domestic Science."
7. Point out the weakness in the following propositions (consider
propositions always with your class as the audience): (1) "Physics,
Chemistry, and Algebra Are Hard Studies." (2) "Only Useful Studies
Should Be Taught in This School." (3) "All Women Should Be Allowed to
Vote and Should Be Compelled by Law to Remove Their Hats in Church."
(4) "Agricultural Conditions in Abyssinia Are Superior to Those in
Burma."
8. Compare the dictionary definition of the following terms with the
meaning which the history of the question has given them in actual
usage:
(1) Domestic science.
(2) Aeroplane exhibitions.
(3) The international Olympic games.
(4) Township high schools.
(5) National conventions of political parties.
LESSON IV
DETERMINING THE ISSUES
I. What the "issues" are.
II. How to determine the issues.
III. The value of correct issues.
When you have made perfectly clear to your hearers what you wish them
to believe, the next step is to show them why they should believe it.
The first step in this process, as we saw at the beginning of Lesson
III, is to see what points, if proved, will make them believe it.
These points, as we call them, are better known as "issues." The
issues are really questions, the basic questions on which your side
and the other disagree. The negative would answer "No" to these
issues, the affirmative would say "Yes."
The issues when stated in declarative sentences are the fundamental
reasons why the affirmative believes its proposition should be
believed.
A student might be arguing with himself whether he would study law or
medicine. He would say to himself: "These are the issues: For which am
I the better adapted? Which requires the more study? Which offers the
better promise of reward? In which can I do the more good?"
Should he argue with a friend in order to induce him to give up law
and to study medicine, he would use similar issues. He would feel
that if he could settle these questions he could convince his friend.
Now, however, he would state them as declarative sentences and say:
"You are more adapted to the profession of medicine; you can do more
good in this field," etc. If the friend should open the question, he
would be in the position of a man on the negative side of a debate. He
would state the issues negatively as his reasons. He would say: "I am
not so well adapted to the study of medicine; it offers less promise
of reward," etc.
Each of these would in turn depend upon other reasons, but every
proposition will depend for its acceptance on the proof of a few main
issues. Perhaps this point can be made clearer by an illustration.
Suppose we should take hold of one small rod which we see in the
framework of a large truss bridge and should say: "This bridge is
strong because this rod is here." Our statement would be only
partially true. The rod might be broken, and although the strength of
the bridge as a whole might be slightly weakened, it would not fall.
But suppose we should say: "This bridge really rests on these four
great steel beams which run down to the stone abutment. If I can see
that these four steel beams are secure, I can believe in the security
of the bridge." So a mechanical engineer shows us that certain rods
and bars of the framework hold up one beam, and how similar rods and
bars sustain a second, and that yet other rods and bars distribute the
weight that would press too heavily on a third, and so at last we are
convinced that the bridge is safe. It is not because we have been
shown that several of the bolts and braces are strong, but because we
have been shown that the four great beams, upon which it rests, are
reliable.
Thus it is with everything in which we believe. We do not believe that
taxes are just because the government must have money to pay the
president or to buy uniforms for the army officers. These things must
be done, but they are incidentals. They are facts, but they are like
the small braces of the bridge. We believe that taxation is just,
because the government must have money for its work. Paying the
president and buying uniforms are details of this more fundamental
reason.
In the same way we might say: "Athletics should be encouraged in high
schools because it will make John Brown, who will participate, more
healthy." That is a reason, but again only a small supporting reason.
We might rather choose a fundamental reason, which this slight reason
would in turn support, and it would be: "Athletics should be
encouraged in high schools because they improve the health of the
students that participate."
In a recent debate between two large high schools on the proposition:
"_Resolved_, That Contests within High Schools Should Be Substituted
for Contests between High Schools," one of the contesting teams took
the following as issues:
1. Contests within high, schools will accomplish the real purpose of
contests better than will contests between schools.
2. Contests within high schools are the more democratic.
3. Contests within high schools can be made to work successfully.
When these three facts had been demonstrated, there was little left to
urge against the claim.
Recently among the universities of a certain section, this question
was discussed: "_Resolved_, That the Federal Government Should Levy a
Graduated Income Tax." (Such tax was conceded as constitutional.) One
university decided upon these as the issues:
1. Does the government need additional revenue?
2. Admitting that additional revenue is needed, is a graduated income
tax the best way of securing the money?
3. Could a graduated income tax be successfully collected?
Here again if the debaters favoring a graduated income could show that
the government does need the money, that the proposed tax is the best
way to get it, and that such a tax would work in practice, they would
make the audience believe their proposition. If the speakers on the
negative side could show that the income of the federal government is
sufficient, that, even if additional revenue is needed, this is a poor
way to obtain it, or that this plan, though good in theory, is
impracticable, they would have a good case. Thus in every question
that is two-sided enough to be a good question for debate, there are
certain fundamental issues upon which the disagreement between the
affirmative and the negative can be shown to rest. When either side
has answered "Yes" or "No" to these issues and has given reasons for
its answer that will find acceptance in the minds of the audience and
of the judges, it has won the debate. It is easy, then, to see why
"determining the issues," and showing the audience what these issues
are, is the second step in successful debating.
Although there is no fixed rule or touchstone by which an issue can
immediately be determined, there are several rules which will aid in
finding them.
1. In all your thinking and reading upon the question, constantly try
to decide: (1) What will the other side admit? (2) Is there anything
that I am thinking of in connection with this question that is not
essential to it?
2. Do not try to make a final determination of the issues until you
are sure you understand the question.
3. Be always ready to change your issues when you see that they are
not fundamental.
With these general rules in mind, think the question over carefully.
This process of determing the issues can, and should, go on at the
same time as the process of learning what the question means. One
helps the other. Having decided what will be the issues of the debate,
set those issues down under appropriate heads; such as, "Is
desirable," "Is needed," "Would work well," etc. Whenever you think of
a reason why a thing is not needed, would not work, etc., put that
down in a similar way. Now read more carefully (see "Reading
References," Appendix I) on both sides of the question, and, whenever
you find a reason for or against the proposition, set it down as
above. The best method of doing this is to have a small pack of plain
cards, perhaps two and one-half by four inches. Use one for each
reason that you put down. As you think and read you will determine
many reasons for the truth or falsity of the proposition. Gradually
you will see that a great many of them are not so important as others
and that they do not bear directly on the question, but in reality
support some more important reason that you have set down. As you
begin to notice this, go through your pack of cards and arrange them
in the order of importance. Begin a new pile with every statement that
seems to bear directly upon the proposition and put under it those
statements that seem to support it. You will soon find that you have
all your cards in two or three piles. Now examine the cards which you
have on the top of each pile. See if the proof of these statements
would convince any person that you are right. If so you have probably
found the issues.
_Always think first, then read, then think again_.
If you have determined the issues wisely, it will be easy in the
debate itself to show the audience and the judges what those issues
are. You will have a tremendous advantage over your opponent, who in
his haste or laziness may have chosen what are not the real issues of
the question. He may present well the material that he has, but if
that material does not support the _fundamental issues_ of the
question, you are right in calling the attention of the judges to that
fact.
Few debates are won on the platform. They are won by thoughtful
preparation. Be prepared.
SUGGESTED EXERCISES
1. Give in your own words, as briefly as you can, a definition of the
term "the issues of a question."
2. Give one illustration of your own of the issues of a question.
3. What is meant by "determining the issues"?
4. Will the affirmative and the negative teams always agree on the
issues?
5. Can a question have two entirely different sets of issues? Why, or
why not?
6. If there can be only one correct set of issues for a question, and
you believe that you have determined those, what must you do in the
debate if your opponents advance different issues?
7. Think over carefully and set down what you believe are the issues
of one of the following propositions. Frame the issues as questions.
(1) a) Football Should Be Abolished in This [your own] School.
b) Football Should Be Installed as a Regular Branch of Athletics in
This [your own] School.
(2) a) Manual Training /Should Be Established in This
Domestic Science \ [your own] School.
b) Manual Training / /Boys /Should Be Made Compulsory
| For| |in This [your own]
Domestic Science \ \Girls \ School.
8. Are there any terms in any of the above propositions which should
be made more clear to an average audience? Are there any terms on the
meaning of which two opposing teams might disagree?
9. Define one such term so that it would be clear and convincing to an
audience not connected with the school.
10. Give two reasons why you believe it is or is not beneficial to
study argumentation and debating.
11. If you were debating the question, "This [your own school] Should
Establish a School Lunch-Room," would you take as one of the issues,
"All students could obtain a warm meal at noon." Why, or why not?
LESSON V
HOW TO PROVE THE ISSUES
I. What "proof" is.
II. A consideration of how "proof" of anything is accomplished.
III. An infallible test of what the audience will believe.
IV. The material of proof-evidence.
V. Evidence and proof compared.
Having determined what the issues are, and having shown the audience
why the establishment of these issues should logically win belief in
your proposition, all that remains is to prove the issues.
Now it is clear that neither the audience nor the judges can be led to
agree with us and to accept our issues as proved, by our telling them
that we should like to have them believe in the soundness of our
views. Neither can we succeed in convincing them by telling them that
they ought to believe as we wish. The modern audience is not to be
cajoled or browbeaten into belief. How, then, are we to persuade our
hearers to accept our assertions as true? The only method is to give
them what they demand--reasons. We must tell _why_ every statement is
true. This process of telling why the issues are true so effectively
that the audience and judges believe them to be true is called the
_proof_.
Naturally, the reasons that we give in support of the issues will be
no better than the issues themselves, unless we know what reasons the
audience will believe. And how are we to know what reasons the
audience will believe? We can best answer that question by determining
why we ourselves believe those things which we accept. Why do we
believe anything? We believe that water is wet; the sky, blue; fire,
hot; and sugar, sweet, because in our _experience_ we have always
found them so. These things we believe because we have _experienced_
them ourselves. There are other things that we believe in a similar
way. We believe that not every newspaper report is reliable. We
believe that a statement in the _Outlook_, the _Review of Reviews_, or
the _World's Work_ is likely to be more trustworthy than a yellow
headline in the _Morning Bugle_. Our own experience, plus what we have
heard of the experience of others, has led us to this belief. But
there are still other things that we believe although we have not
experienced them at all. We believe that Columbus visited America in
1492, that Grant was a great general, that Washington was our first
president. Directly, these things have never been experienced by us,
but indirectly they have. Others, within whose experience these things
have fallen, have led us to accept them so thoroughly that they have
become our experience second hand.
If we are told that a man who was in the Iroquois Theater fire was
seriously burned, it seems reasonable to us because our experience
recognizes burning as the result of such a situation. But if we are
told that a man who fell into the water emerged dry, or that a general
who served under Washington was born in 1830, we discredit it because
such statements are not in accord with our experience. We are ready,
then, to answer our question: _"What reasons will those in the
audience believe?" They will believe those statements which harmonize
with their own experience, and will discredit those which are at
variance with their experience._ This experience, as we have seen, may
be first hand, or direct; or it may be indirect, or second hand.
In every case, the speaker's argument must base every issue upon
reasons that rest on what the hearers believe because of their own
direct or indirect experience. Suppose I assert: "John Quinn was a
dangerous man." Someone says: "Prove that statement." I answer: "He
was a thief." Someone says: "If that is true, he was a bad man, but
can you prove him a thief?" Then I produce a copy of a court record
which states that, on a certain day, a duly constituted court found
John Quinn guilty of robbing a bank. All my hearers now admit, not
only that he was a thief, but also that he was a dangerous person. I
have given them a reason for my statement, and a reason for that
reason, until at last I have shown them that my assertion, that John
Quinn is a dangerous citizen, rests on what they themselves
believe--that a court record is reliable.
Sometimes an issue cannot be supported by a reason that will come at
once within the experience of the audience. It is then necessary to
support the first by a second reason that does come within its
experience. Remember, then, as the fundamental rule, that the judges
and audience will believe the issues of the proposition, and, as a
result, the proposition itself, only when we show them, by the
standard of their own experience, that we are right.
The reasons that we give in support of the issues are, in debating,
called _evidence_. Evidence is not proof; evidence is the material out
of which proof is made. Evidence is like the separate stones of a
solid wall: no one alone makes the wall; each one helps make it
strong. Evidence is like the small rods and braces of the truss
bridge: no one alone supports the weight; each helps to sustain the
great beams that are the real support of the bridge.
Suppose we had the proposition: "The Honor System of Examinations
Should Be Established in the Greenburg High School." We assert: "There
is but one issue: Will the students be honest in the examination?"
Now, what evidence shall we use to show that they will be honest? We
may turn to the experience of other schools. After a careful
investigation we find evidence with which we may support the assertion
in the following way:
The Honor System should be established in the Greenburg High School,
for:
I. The student will do honest work under that system, for:
1. Experience of similar schools shows this, for:
(1) This plan was a success in X High School, for:
a) The principal of that school states [quotation from
principal], for:
(a) See _School Review_, Mar., 1900.
(2) This plan is approved by Y High School, for:
a) Etc.
Here the statements used in support of the issue are evidence. If the
evidence is strong enough to bring conviction to the audience to which
you are speaking, it is proof.
But notice here an important point. Why should this tend to make those
in the audience believe that the honor system should be adopted?
Simply because we have shown them that it has worked well elsewhere,
and _their own experience tells them that what has been a benefit in
other schools similar to this will be a benefit here_.
And in its final analysis this evidence is no stronger than the words
of the men who state that it has worked in schools (X) and (Y).
_If the experience of the audience_ is that these men are untruthful
or likely to exaggerate, our evidence will not be good evidence. If
the experience of the audience is that these men are capable, honest,
and reliable, this evidence will go far toward gaining acceptance of,
and belief in, our proposition.
Many attempts have been made to put evidence into different classes
and to give tests of good evidence. There is but one rule that the
debater needs to use: _In judging evidence for a debate consider what
the effect will be on the audience and the judges. Will it be
convincing to them_? In other words, will it make their own experience
quickly and strongly support the issues?
Time is always limited in a debate. The wise debater will then choose
that evidence which will most quickly make his hearers feel that their
own experience proves him right. When the speaker has done this, he
has chosen the best evidence and has used enough of it.
In courts of law where witnesses appear in every case and testify as
to circumstances that did or did not occur, it is necessary that the
jury be able to distinguish carefully between what it should and
should not believe. Witnesses often have a keen personal interest in
the verdict and, therefore, are inclined to tell less or more than the
truth. Sometimes witnesses are relatives of persons who would suffer
if the case were decided against them and they have a tendency to give
unfair testimony.
In order that the jury may decide as fairly as possible what evidence
is sound and what is not, the attorneys on each side of the case make
out a copy of what are called instructions. These are given to the
judge who, provided he approves of them, reads them to the jury.
Usually these instructions urge the jurors to consider four things.
They must consider, first, whether or not the statements of the
witness are probable; that is, are they consistent with human
experience? Do they seem reasonable and natural? A second thing which
the jury is told to bear in mind is the opportunity which the witness
had of observing the facts of which he speaks. Was he in a position to
be familiar with the thing he describes? In this connection, the jury
is sometimes instructed to consider the physical and mental qualities
of the witness. Is he a man who is physically and mentally able to
judge what he observes under such circumstances? A third factor which
the jury must consider is the possibility of prejudice on the part of
the witness. Has he any reason to feel more favorably toward one side
than toward the other? Is the defendant his friend or relative or
employer? A final consideration is what is commonly called "interest
in the case." It is clear that if the witness will be benefited by a
certain verdict, he may be inclined to frame his evidence in such a
way that it will tend toward that verdict. All these considerations
are based on the rule of referring to experience. What a judge really
says in a charge to the jury is this: "Does your experience warn you
that the testimony of some of these witnesses is unsound? Determine
upon that basis in what respects these witnesses have told the whole
truth and in what respects they have not."
To summarize: The issues of a proposition are proved by being
supported with evidence. Since evidence is the material with which we
build the connection between the issues and the experience of the
audience, that evidence will be best which will receive the quickest
and strongest support from the experience of the hearers.[3]
SUGGESTED EXERCISES
1. In the following extract from a speech of Burke, the famous debater
has asserted that it is undesirable to use force upon the American
colonies. State the four main reasons why he thinks so. Under each
principal reason, put the reasons or evidence with which it is
supported. Is this evidence convincing? Why, or why not?
First, Sir, permit me to observe that the use of force alone is but
temporary. It may subdue for a moment, but it does not remove the
necessity of subduing again; and a nation is not governed which is
perpetually to be conquered.
My next objection is its uncertainty. Terror is not always the
effect of force, and an armament is not a victory. If you do not
succeed, you are without resource; for, conciliation failing, force
remains; but, force failing, no further hope of reconciliation is
left. Power and authority are sometimes bought by kindness; but they
can never be begged as alms by an impoverished and defeated
violence.
A further objection to force is that you impair the object by your
very endeavor to preserve it. The thing you fought for is not the
thing which you recover; but depreciated, sunk, wasted, and consumed
in the contest. Nothing less will content me than whole America. I
do not choose to consume its strength along with our own, because in
all parts it is the British strength that I consume. I do not choose
to be caught by a foreign enemy at the end of this exhausting
conflict; and still less in the midst of it. I may escape; but I can
make no insurance against such an event. Let me add that I do not
choose wholly to break the American spirit: because it is the spirit
that has made the country.
Lastly, we have no sort of experience in favor of force as an
instrument in the rule of our Colonies. Their growth and their
utility has been owing to methods altogether different. Our ancient
indulgence has been said to be pursued to a fault. It may be so. But
we know, if feeling is evidence, that our fault was more tolerable
than our attempt to mend it; and our sin far more salutary than our
penitence.
2. Wells's _Geometry_ gives the following proposition: "Two
perpendiculars to the same straight line are parallel." The evidence
given is: "If they are not parallel, they will, if sufficiently
produced, meet at some point, which is impossible, because from a
given point without a straight line but one perpendicular can be
drawn." Is this evidence sufficient to constitute proof? Does it
convince you? Why, or why not?