Table Of ContentTHE DEBATABASE BOOK
This page intentionally left blank
THE DEBATABASE BOOK
A Must-Have Guide for Successful Debate
FOURTH EDITION
THE EDITORS OF IDEA
Introduction by Robert Trapp
international debate education association
New York - Amsterdam - Brussels
Published by
international debate education association
400 West 59th Street / New York, NY 10019
Copyright © 2009 by International Debate Education Association
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/deed.en_US
The topics and arguments included in The Debatabase Book
represent the work of an international group of contributors
with diverse points of view. We would like to thank the following
for their contributions: James Action (UK), Jonathan Bailey (UK),
Heather Begg (UK), Kumar Bekbolotov (Kyrgyzstan), Patrick
Blanchfield (US), Amy Brown (US), Matt But (UK), Alex Deane (UK),
Joe Devanny (UK), Thomas Dixon (UK), William J. Driscoll (US),
Alastair Endersby (UK), Peter English (UK), Tom Hamilton (UK),
Alexis Hearndon (UK), Sebastian Isaac (UK), Maryia Lahutsina
(Belarus), Dr. Kevin J. Minch (US), Richard Mott (UK), Vikram Nair
(UK), Drew Patterson (US), Richard Penny (Finland), Anca Pusca
(Romania), Jacqueline Rose (UK), Christopher Ruane (Ireland),
Jacob Russell (US), Daniel Schut (Netherlands), Jonathan Simons
(UK), Andrea Stone (US), Jason Stone (US), Richard Stupart (South
Africa), Nicholas Tan (Singapore), Hayden Taylor (UK), Eleanora von
Dehsen (US), Alaina von Horn (US), Bobby Webster (UK), Robert
Weekes (UK), and Marc Whitmore (UK).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The debatabase book : a must have guide for successful
debate / by the editors of IDEA ; introduction by Robert Trapp.
-- 4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-932716-49-8
1. Debates and debating. I. International Debate Education
Association.
PN4181.D3945 2009
808.5’3--dc22
2009001136
Printed in the USA
iv| The Debatabase Book
Contents
Contents
•
Introduction 1
Abortion on Demand 15
Abortion, Parental Notification/Consent 17
Advertising, Image of Women in 18
Affirmative Action 20
Age Discrimination 22
AIDS Drugs for Developing Countries 23
Alternatively Fueled Cars, Government Incentives for 25
Animal Rights 27
Antarctic Exploitation 29
Arranged Marriages 32
Assassination of a Dictator 33
Assisted Suicide 35
Biodiversity and Endangered Species 37
Biofuels 39
Capital Punishment 42
Cell Phones, Banning of Use in Cars 44
Censorship of the Arts 46
Child Labor 47
Child Offenders, Stricter Punishment for 49
Children, Choosing Sex of 50
Civil Disobedience 52
Climate Change: Regulations vs. Market Mechanism in Dealing With 54
Coal, Use of 57
Condoms in Schools 59
Corruption, Benefits of 60
Creationism in Public Schools 62
Cuba, Dropping of US Sanctions on 64
Cultural Treasures, Return of 66
Curfew Laws 68
Democracy, Imposition of 70
Developing World Debt, Cancellation of 71
DNA Database for Criminals 73
Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 76
Drinking Age, Lowering 77
Driving Age, Increasing 79
Drugs in Sports 80
Drug Testing in Schools 82
Economic Development vs. Environment 84
Economic Sanctions vs. Engagement 85
Electoral College, Abolition of 87
Environmentally Linked Aid 88
Ethical Foreign Policy 90
Extraordinary Rendition 91
Factory Farming, Banning of 94
Failed States, US Intervention to Prevent Collapse of 95
Fairness Doctrine, Reintroducing 97
Free Speech, Restrictions on 100
Free Trade and Development 101
Gay Adoption 103
Gay Marriage 104
Gays in the Military 105
Gene Patenting 107
Genetically Modified Foods 108
Genetic Screening 110
Globalization and the Poor 112
Global Warming 113
God, Existence of 116
Greenhouse Gases: Trading Quotas 117
Gun Control 119
Habeas Corpus, Restrictions on 121
Hate Speech on Campus 122
Health Care, Universal 123
Homemakers, Paid for Their Work? 125
Homeschooling 128
Human Cloning 130
Human Organs, Sale of 132
Human Rights: Existence of 133
Human Rights: Imposition by Force? 135
Immigration Reform 136
International Criminal Court 138
Internet Censorship 140
Internment Without Trial 142
Iran’s Right to Possess Nuclear Weapons 144
Islam and Democracy 146
Israel and the Palestinians, US Policy Toward 147
Ivory Trading 149
Just War 150
Landmines, US Production and Use of 152
Mandatory Sentencing: Three Strikes 154
Marijuana, Legalization of 156
Minority Schools 158
Multiculturalism vs. Integration 159
National Testing 161
Nuclear vs. Renewable Energy 163
Nuclear Weapons, Abolition of 165
Offshore Drilling 166
Olympic Games, Hosting of 168
Overpopulation and Contraception 170
Overseas Manufacturing 172
Pacifism 173
Parentage, Right to Know 175
Parental Responsibility 176
Politicians and Special Interests 178
Polygamy 180
Pornography, Banning of 182
Preventive War 183
vi| The Debatabase Book
Priestly Celibacy, Abolition of 185
Privacy vs. Security 186
Prostitution, Legalization of 188
Rebuilding After Disasters, Government Role in 190
Religion: Source of Conflict or Peace? 191
Religious Belief: Rational or Irrational? 193
Russia: Strong Leadership vs. Democracy 195
School Vouchers 197
Science: Threat to Society? 198
Sex Education in Schools 200
Sex Offenders: Publicly Naming 201
Single-Sex Schools 202
Smoking, Further Restrictions on 204
Space Exploration 206
Stem Cell Research and Therapeutic Cloning 208
Terrorism, Justification for 209
Torture in Interrogation 212
Two-Party System 214
United Nations: A Failure? 215
Vegetarianism 217
Voter Identification Laws 219
War Crimes Tribunals 220
Warrantless Wiretapping 222
Water Privatization 223
Water Resources: A Commodity? 225
Whaling, Lifting the Ban on 226
Wikipedia, Force for Good? 228
Women in Combat 231
Zero Tolerance Policing 233
Topical Index 237
Contents |vii
This page intentionally left blank
IntroduCtIon
Debatabase is a starting point on the road to participating Communication, rhetoric, argumentation, and
in debates. The volume provides a beginning for those debate
debaters who would like to learn about important topics
being argued in the public sphere. Debaters can use this Communication, rhetoric, argumentation, and debate
volume as a method of discovering the basic issues rel- are related concepts. Starting with communication and
evant to some of the more important topics being dis- proceeding to debate, the concepts become progressively
cussed in various public forums. It will provide debaters narrowed. By beginning with the broadest concept,
a brief look at some of the claims that can be used to communication, and ending at the narrowest, debate, I
support or to oppose many of the issues argued about by intend to show how all these terms are interrelated.
persons in democratic societies; it will also provide some Communication may be defined as the process
sketches of evidence that can be used to support these whereby signs are used to convey information. Fol-
claims. This volume is, however, only a starting point. lowing this definition, communication is a very broad
Debaters interested in becoming very good debaters or concept ranging from human, symbolic processes to
excellent debaters will need to go beyond this volume if the means that animals use to relate to one another.
they intend to be able to intelligently discuss these issues Some of these means are a part of the complex biology
in depth. of both human and nonhuman animals. For instance,
This introduction is intended to provide a theoretical the behaviors of certain species of birds when strang-
framework within which information about argumen- ers approach a nest of their young are a part of the
tation and debate can be viewed; no attempt has been biology of those species. The reason we know these
made to provide a general theory of argumentation. I are biological traits is that all members of the species
begin with some basic distinctions among the terms use the same signs to indicate intrusion. Although all
communication, rhetoric, argumentation, and debate, of our communication abilities—including rhetorical
progress to a description of the elements of argument communication—are somehow built into our species
that are most central to debate, and then to a discussion biologically, not all communication is rhetorical.
of how these elements can be structured into claims to The feature that most clearly distinguishes rheto-
support debate propositions. Following the discussion ric from other forms of communication is the symbol.
of argument structures, I move to a more detailed dis- Although the ability to use symbolic forms of commu-
cussion of claims and propositions and finally discuss nication is certainly a biological trait of human beings,
the kinds of evidence needed to support claims and our ability to use symbols also allows us to use culturally
propositions. and individually specific types of symbols. The clear-
A caveat is needed before proceeding to the theoreti- est evidence that different cultures developed different
cal portion of this introduction. This introduction does symbols is the presence of different languages among
not intend to be a practical, how-to guide to the creation human beings separated geographically. Even though all
of arguments. It does intend to provide the conceptual humans are born with the ability to use language, some
groundwork needed for debaters to learn how to create of us learn Russian, others French, and others English.
arguments according to a variety of methods. The clearest example of symbolic communication is lan-
