by Lauren Feldman.
Lately, I've become aware of the fact that in heated debates, people often tend to lose sight of what's truly important. It started when I found myself in the middle of an intense discussion regarding religion. I realized that in the heat of the moment, I was no longer processing my opponent's arguments for truth or validity, but rather,
for the sole purpose of formulating an adequate rebuttal to them. It is good – respectable, even – to be firm in one's beliefs, but there is a fine line between doing that and completely defying the purpose of an intellectual debate. The point of a debate is not to inflate your own ego by proving everyone else wrong, but to exchange
information, share ideas, learn from each other. The bottom line is that we are often far too preoccupied with being right to truly understand the perspectives of others. So during your next debate, or even everyday conversation, I urge you to take ego out of the equation. You may be surprised at what you can learn.
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6 comments:
you just wrote this 'cause you always lose.
I'm sorry, but if we asked the terrorists and the Palestinians and the murderers in Darfur and other those other shrunken violets that you people drag up to lay down their arms and take their egos out of the picture, you think they'd comply? No thanks, bud. I think i'll stick to my piercing intuition and acerbic wit.
I hardly asked anyone to "lay down their arms"; I only ask that they take into consideration WHY they're firing before they fire. There is a difference between debating with the intention of winning, and mindlessly arguing with someone without even thoroughly considering their point of view first. Many people are convinced that they are always right, but if they actually listened to the reasoning of others, they may actually learn a thing or two. And if they aren't willing to listen at all, well, what could possibly be accomplished by the discussion? It doesn't seem like much.
isn't the point of a debate to persuade the opposing side to agree with you (or even a third party)? That is, according to my standards, winning the debate.
But you fail to see the part where I AM always right. Just because you're wrong all the time doesn't mean the some people aren't perfect.
hey L.F., you need to stop "losing sight of what's truly important" and try to understand others' sides of the argument. try "processing your opponent's arguments for truth or validity" instead of immediately "formulating an adequate rebuttal to them".
haha. burned by your own logic. I feel like I'm back in old new york.
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