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Questions tagged [debate]

61 questions
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Is there a name for this fallacy when someone says something is good by only pointing out the good things?

A person says that a politician "Jane Doe" is good because he increased the education budget. (but in reality, Jane doe is also corrupt & racist, whose bad policies lead to the downfall of the economy of the country) A person says that the…
Mysterious Jack
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What is this "going to the other extreme to make it look stupid to prove something"?

I don't know why I see this so often. When I say, it may not be good to sell 35 years of your life to the corporate world in a stressful way being golden handcuffed by a high salary or stock, somebody would say, "you can always go to a burger place…
Stefanie Gauss
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Is one commiting the "argument from authority" fallacy and/or the "consensus fallacy" when one refers to a scientific consensus when asserting truth?

Bob and Alice disagree regarding subject X. Alice holds view A regarding subject X. Bob holds view B regarding subject X. View A and view B are quite contradictory views. Both can not be true at the same time. Subject X is of paramount importance,…
Fiksdal
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Is there (or does something exist that is close to) a theory of arguments?

I'm looking for any extensive work on a framework for "arguments", that works something along these lines: When two parties are debating, they are making assertions on a particular domain, D. Those assertions are ultimately based on some axioms,…
wsgeorge
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What is an 'argumentum ad lapidem'?

I've seen philosophical arguments descriped as 'argumentum ad lapidem', but never quite understood what the criticism is trying to indicate. As best I can tell, it's a dismissal of an argument with no good justification. Could anybody expand a…
Jez
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Which fallacy: Thinking everything someone does in a discussion that's wrong is a fallacy?

There are a lot of questions about which fallacy something is on this site. Many times, the argument in the question is not actually a fallacy, but something that the questioner doesn't like/agree with or some other behavior that's not a fallacy. Is…
Josef
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If I am unable to rebut a person's argument - am I obligated to accept it?

Suppose that I have an argument with a person, and s/he argues convincingly for his opinion. In case I cannot disprove his argument, would the intellectually honest thing to do be to accept it and its conclusion?
Sam
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Presenting an example, then claiming the other person needs more information before using the same example - is either of us making a fallacy?

I recently had a conversation with someone in which they used an example to illustrate a point: "For example, if you tell me something [which isn't scientifically proven to be effective] works and I try it five times and don't notice a…
spectralbat
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What is the proper response in a debate when your opponent ignores your counterarguments?

I keep running into a situation in debates and arguments. My opponent makes an argument (or counterargument), and I carefully disprove all of my opponent's points. However, instead of addressing my counterarguments or following up on the points I…
Cyrad
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What is it called when an opponent tells you to look up the source of their own claim, yourself?

Someone says: During the time of the dinosaurs CO2 levels were 9000 ppm. We're at 400. Nothing died back then either. Quite the opposite. Life was absolutely gigantic, even the plants were huge. In response I ask for the person's source. Their…
codemon
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What does Slavoj Zizek mean by Hegel's reading of "felix culpa"?

Recently I watched "The duel of the century" between Slavoj Zizek and Jordan Peterson. Briefly in 2:17:45 min. Zizek points out to Hegel reading of "The story of the fall", a quote from Zizek This is how Hegel reads the story of the fall, that fall…
Djordje
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How does philosophy advance despite irreconcilable background assumptions ("positions") on every topic?

In philosophy there are always, and on almost everything, many "positions", many different possibilities to choose from, and there isn't mainly some decisive conclusion between positions as to what's "true" or what's "right" to choose between all…
Yechiam Weiss
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How to debate with someone who asks for proof of a fact they are not denying

I was debating with a flat earth believer and proposed a disproof of his theory. His theory being the earth is a circle and the sun is a spotlight that casts a circle of light beneath it. My argument was that if the sun cast light in a circle of…
PStag
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Any good philosophy debate recommendations?

[Note for admins - close if it doesn't fit the SE, I asked in the Symposium but no one answered so I came here. No need to downvote.] Hi all, I saw Dennet, Krauss, and Massimo debate a couple of days ago (an absolutely bad debate in my honest…
Yechiam Weiss
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Logic and reason is circular reasoning..?

In an argument about circular reasoning the opponent does nothing but state over and over that if 'God exists because the bible says so and the bible is true so god must exist' is circular reasoning, then using reason and logic to determine that…
Aaron Hird
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