ABSTRACT
Pros and Cons: A Debaters Handbook offers a unique and invaluable guide to current controversies, providing material for debate on a wide range of topics. Arguments for and against each subject appear in adjacent columns for easy comparison, and related topics and suggestions for possible motions are listed at the end of each entry. Since its publication in 1896 the handbook has been regularly updated and this eighteenth edition includes new issues such as censorship of the internet, genetic engineering and the legalisation of prostitution. The introductory essay describes debating technique, covering the rules, structure and type of debate, and offering tips on how to become a successful speaker. The book is then divided into eight thematic sections, where specific subjects are covered individually.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |10 pages
HOW TO DEBATE
THE ART OF DEBATING FOR BEGINNERS OF ANY AGE Styles and formats of debate differ considerably around the world. ‘Policy debate’ in the US, for example, is seen very much as an educational discipline, with far more emphasis put on research and content than on rhetorical ability.
part |1 pages
[A] Philosophical/Political Theory
chapter |3 pages
Censorship by the State
This is one of the most common topics, underpinning many civil rights issues, media debates, and efforts of the state to regulate new technological developments. ‘Censorship’ is an ambiguous term but the debate is better if the Proposition takes it as it is commonly accepted, as the banning of certain texts, images, films, etc. Defining censorship simply as regulation or indeed as ‘any
chapter |2 pages
Democracy
In Western democracies we frequently forget that there are other types of political system and that ours may not necessarily be the best. In debates set in democracies, e.g. that ‘leaders should listen more to their people’, the Proposition must do more than assume that ‘democracy is a good thing’—this is an assertion that needs to be justified.
chapter |3 pages
Ideology v. Pragmatism
Many debates involve this clash in some form or other. The best debates have ideological and practical arguments on both sides, but it is often the case that one side will rely more on principle and one more on practical benefits. The following is merely a simplified version to illustrate the foundations of this basic debate.
chapter |3 pages
Legislation v. Individual Freedom
A central issue in most debates about government social policy. How far should politicians intrude into our lives? What are the benefits of letting them? This can be, of course, a classic Left v. Right debate, with socialists supporting an interventionist state because of the benefits it can offer and conservatives valuing their individual freedom above all—as many militia groups in the US resent any
chapter |2 pages
Pacifism
In one of the most famous debates ever at the Oxford Union, the motion ‘This House will in no circumstances fight for its King and Country’, was passed in 1933 by 275 votes to 153. It sparked off a national controversy in the press, and Winston Churchill denounced it as ‘that abject, squalid, shameless avowal’ and ‘this ever shameful motion’. It is rumoured that the vote gave Adolf Hitler
chapter |2 pages
Tradition v. Innovation
Many debates will end up polarising into one between the case for traditional values and the case for innovation and change. Tradition or innovation are sometimes argued for as good things in themselves, and at other times argued for as means to an end. Below are some sample arguments.
part |1 pages
[B] Constitutional/Governance
chapter |2 pages
Bill of Rights
There are three crucial questions at issue here. First, to what extent do people actually have inalienable or fundamental ‘rights’? Second, if they do have such rights from birth, what are they, and who decides what they are? Third, is it necessary for each nation to write down the rights of its citizens in a constitutional document—a ‘bill of rights’—in the way in which the US has
chapter |2 pages
Churches in Politics
In an increasingly secular world, does the Church still have anything left to say about social and political issues, or should it be confined to the realm of private spirituality? And if it does have anything to say about political matters, will anybody listen? Or is it the case that in a multi-cultural society only democratically elected politicians should have the authority to shape social and
chapter |3 pages
Devolution of Scotland and Wales
A bill for the creation of Scottish and Welsh assemblies was introduced in 1976 but rejected by referenda in Scotland and Wales in 1979. Devolution of Scotland and Wales was one of the manifesto pledges of Tony Blair’s ‘New Labour’ Party, which was elected into government with a landslide majority in May 1997. Referenda on devolution in Scotland and Wales were among the first visible acts
chapter |2 pages
Disestablishment of the Church of England
Currently in Britain the Church of England is ‘established’. This means that Anglican Christianity is the official religion of Great Britain. The monarch is head of the Church of England. In addition, senior bishops of the Church of England can sit in the House of Lords. There have been increasing calls for the disestablishment of the Church of England—the ending of its privileged status as
