THE ART OF ARGUMENTATION AND DEBATE

 A word is a mere symbol of an idea or a conception. It denotes some general
concept existing in the mind.
 A term is any word or group of words which serves to point out any imaginable
subject of discourse.
 A word or a term does not assert an act of judgement to be affirmed or to be
denied.
 An “act of judgement is a mental assertion of something as true or untrue.”
TO ILLUSTRATE:
woman is a word: Filipino woman is a term.
 Woman or Filipino woman does not assert an act of judgement to be affirmed
or to be denied.
 Therefore, a word or a term may not be the subject of argumentation.

 The subject of argumentation must be a proposition.
 A proposition is defined as “an expression in words of an act of
judgement.”
 A proposition is expressed in a complete statement, with a subject
and a predicate.
 It allows an affirmance and a denial.
ILLUSTRATIONS:
1) The Filipino woman of yesterday was better than the Filipino
woman of today.
2) Capital punishment should be abolished.
3) City mayors should be elected by popular vote.

PROPOSITIONS OF FACT
 is one that is concerned with the truth or falsity of an act of
judgement.
 It aims at belief.
 It settles the question: “Is this assertion true?”
Examples:
(1) Resolved, That elective city mayors are more efficient than
appointive ones.
(2) Resolved, That the Chinese are a menace to our national security.

PROPOSITIONS OF POLICY
 Is one that is concerned with the wisdom or unwisdom, the
expediency or inexpediency, of a course of action.
 It aims at action.
 It answers the questions: “Should it be done?” “Should this
course of action be followed?”
Examples:
(1) Resolved, That the Filipino women should be disfranchised.
(2) Resolved, That the term of office of the President be six years,
without reelection.

READER/HEARER
 To determine whether the debater
satisfies the requirements of the
burden of proof, he must know
what the dispute is all about.
 If he did not, he cannot follow the
progress of the debate.
ARGUER/DEBATER
 Before arguing, the debater must
know what it is that he should
establish.
 If he cannot understand his own
position, he cannot understand
the position taken by his
opponent, and thus he will not be
able to refute him.

 In contest debates, the proposition must always be expressed in
the introduction.
 In public discussions, it is not always advisable to do so.
 In a formal contest debate, it is imperative that the proposition
be always expressed in the form of a resolution.
Example:
Resolved, That a partyless democracy be established in the
Philippines.

a) In a club. Such as a fraternity or a class organization, the proposition is
presented in the form of a motion from the floor.
b) In a parliamentary body. Such as the House of Representatives, the
proposition is presented in any of the following forms: a bill, a resolution, or
a motion.
c) In a municipal council. Such as the Municipal Board of the City of Manila,
the proposition is presented in the following forms: an ordinance, a
resolution, or a motion.
d) In a court of law. The proposition is presented in the form of pleading.
Pleading are found inn the ff. forms: (1) Complaint, (2) Information, (3)
Petition, (4) Motion.

 Not all propositions are good for debates.
 The nature of the audience should be taken into
account. (education, likes and dislikes, interests)
 A proposition may be chosen because it is timely, its
discussion profitable, or it is best adapted to the
interests of the debaters or those of the audience.

(a) The proposition must be in the form of an assertion.
 The proposition should be stated in a categorical, declarative, positive
statement, not a question.
Example:
“Resolved, That capital punishment be abolished.”
NOT, “Should capital punishment be abolished?”
“Resolved, that capital punishment should not be abolished.”

(b) The proposition must express only one act of
judgement.
 If there are two assertions or two courses of action or problems expressed in
one proposition, confusion will arise.
Example:
“Resolved, That the Philippines establish a unicameral legislature and that the
Speaker of the House of Representatives be elected by direct popular vote.”
(c) The proposition must be susceptible of only one
interpretation.
 The words used should be clear.
 General terms susceptible of more than one interpretation should be
avoided.

(d) The proposition must be unprejudiced.
 There should be no phraseology that assumes the truth of the point to be
proved.
 There should not be used words of praise or of blame.
Example:
“Resolved, That dishonest officials be weeded from the service.”
(e) The proposition should avoid abstractions and
generalizations.
 The propositions should be as concrete as specific as possible.
Example:
“Resolved, That women should organize a civic club.”

(f) The proposition must be concise and simple.
 All unnecessary words should be omitted and the words used should be easy to
comprehend.
Example:
“Resolved, That, in order to serve the end of justice and meet public demand, retail
trade be nationalized.”
(g) The proposition must be debatable.
 The act of judgement expressed should not be obviously true or false.
THE FF. PROPOSITIONS ARE NOT DEBATABLE:
(1) Resolved, That to be honest is to be honorable.
(2) Resolved, That China is bigger than Japan

(h) The proposition must be so worded that the burden of proof shall fall on the
affirmative side.
 Whoever will take up the affirmative side of the question must be the party who is
dissatisfied with the present order of things and, therefore demands a change in the
existing situation.
Example:
“Resolved, That the Filipino woman should be granted the right of suffrage.”
(i) The proposition must be interesting.
 The word interesting, as it is used here, is a relative form.
 Depends upon the education, the aptitude, the experience, the likes and dislikes of
both the speaker and the audience, and the peculiar conditions of the time.
 Must be within the comprehension of both the speaker and the audience.
Example:
“Resolved, That coronary thrombosis is curable.”

1. The nature of the burden of proof.
 Justice and common sense demand that one who asserts
something must prove his assertion.
 The theory of the burden of proof is an application of the Latin
maxim: Ei incumbit probatio, qui dicit, non qui negat. (It is the
duty of the one who alleges to prove what he says, not of the one
who denies it.)
BURDEN OF PROOF
 Is the duty of the affirmative to present evidences and arguments to
establish his claim.

Example:
If Pedro alleges that Juan owes him ₱100.00, it is his duty to present all the
evidences he has at hand, testimonial or documentary, to establish his claim.
If Pedro fails to do so, Juan, the negative, does not have the duty to prove
that he does not owe Pedro.
PRIMA FACIE CASE
 Is one of sufficient strength to win if it is not refuted.
BURDEN OF REBUTTAL
 Is the duty of either party to the controversy to present evidences and
arguments at any stage of the case to overthrow the contention of the
opposing side.

A counterproposition is one that is presented by the
negative, adverse to the main proposition.
Burden of proof never shifts: it always lies on the
affirmative side.
Burden of Rebuttal shifts from side to side as the
debate progresses.

 In law, the term of rebuttal is not used.
 The term burden of proof covers the meaning of both burden of proof
and burden of rebuttal.
 The burden of rebuttal in law is termed weight of evidence in legal
procedure.
 A rebuttal evidence or a rebuttal argument is either an evidence or an
argument presented by a party to a controversy to overthrow the
opposing case.
 In law, the counterproposition is called affirmative defense or confession
and avoidance.

THE THEORY OF THE PRESUMPTIONS.
 In general, are logical inferences of the truth or falsity of a point in
dispute.
 Man is surrounded by the inexorable operation of the laws of nature,
physical and human.
 He makes inferences from his observation.
 All the innumerable inferences that man makes are based on his
experience.

PRESUMPTIONS OF FACT.
 They are simple logical inferences.
 May be regarded by the judge.
 They do not have the force of legal rules.
PRESUMPTIONS OF LAW.
 Are legal assumptions of the truth or falsity of a point in
dispute.
 Must be regarded by the judge

 Where there is freedom of thought and expression, there necessarily
follow differences of opinions. One person may assert a certain fact;
another may deny such as assertion.
 These differences of opinion—assertions affirmed by the affirmative
and denied by the negative—are generally called issues.
 In our daily conversation, the word issues refers to clashes of
opinions and beliefs.

 In general argumentation, issues are defined as
“the inherently vital points, elements, or subpropositions, affirmed by the
affirmative and denied by the negative, upon the establishment of which
depends the establishment of the main proposition.”
 Issues are inherent in the proposition.
 They are also vital in the sense that, unless they are established, the main
proposition cannot be established.
 To make out a prima facie case, the issues must first be established by
competent evidence, proof, or argument.

 Starting point of the debate.
ISSUE OF FACT – a point raised by a party who denies something alleged in
his opponent’s pleading.
ISSUE OF LAW - a point of law upon which the two parties differ.
GENERAL ISSUE - refers to a defense which denies simpliciter the whole
declaration of the affirmative.
SPECIAL ISSUE - does not deny the whole declaration, but one or more of the
the allegations of law or fact.

 Issues are inherent in the proposition.
 It is the task of the debaters to discover, explain, and
define the issues through logical and careful analysis.
 The audience as well as the debaters themselves will
understand the points on which opinions clash.

 Potential issues are simply the inherently vital points involved in the
proposition that the affirmative should establish to make out a prima facie
case.
 Admitted issues are those potential issues on which there is no clash of
opinion because they are not controverted by the negative.
 Stock issues refer to the formulas of issues: i.e., issues that are considered
always involved in a proposition of policy.
For example:
In a proposition of policy, the debater will usually consider the ff. questions: (1)
Is the measure necessary? (2) Will the measure be beneficial? and (3) Is the
measure practicable?

READER/HEARER
 The reader who does not
comprehend precisely the point in
dispute cannot determine the
relevancy or the irrelevancy or the
logical sufficiency or in-sufficiency
of the evidences and arguments
that are presented.
 He is likely to get confused and,
therefore, cannot follow the
progress of the debate.
ARGUER/DEBATER
 He may waste his time and
energy proving some fact that will
not help in establishing his case.
 He may be surprised by an attack
on some vital point.
 He may fail to appreciate the
relevancy of the evidence and
arguments that he may adduce.
 He will likely confuse them.

The affirmative must establish all the issues, unless the
negative admits one or some of them.
If the affirmative fails to prove any one of the issues, he
loses the case.
As he fails thus to make out a prima facie case, the
negative has no obligation to present any evidence in
his defense.

JOINING THE ISSUES
 The process of determining what issues are admitted
and what issues are denied.
He may admit all the issues except one and fight the
affirmative on this remaining one.

 A contest debate is not decided on the merits of the case—neither in the
strength of the evidence presented nor on the strength of the arguments
adduced.
 It is decided on the basis of the ability of the debaters—i.e., their
reasoning, their analysis of the question, the quality of their language, their
application of the rules of argumentation and debate as an art, their ability
to talk to an audience, and the measure of preparation they demonstrate.
 The affirmative may fail to establish a prima facie and yet win the debate.

ISSUES
 Are the vital points involved in a proposition that the affirmative
must establish his case.
 Issues are always vital.
PARTITION
 Is the term used to designate the statement of the main points to
taken up in the course of the discussion.
 The points in partition must be important, but not necessarily vital.

 Consult the dictionary for the definitions of the terms used in the proposition.
 Read books written by recognized authorities on the question under
discussion.
 Read the newspapers, magazine articles, and pamphlets for whatever
information may be useful in establishing his case.
 Interview important persons to get their views on the question or to get
suggestions in getting the materials needed.
 From pertinent sources he gathers data, statistics, and such other information
to make him thoroughly conversant with both sides of the question and with
all its phases and aspects.

The process of gathering from all available sources of
information such facts, data, statistics, and inferences as
are necessary to establish one’s case and to overthrow
the case of the opponent.
A study of evidence, forms of arguments, and fallacies
is necessary to make the work of research effective.

THE NOTE-BOOK SYSTEM
ADVANTAGES
 More handy to carry around
 More convenient for taking down
long quotations or extracts and for
preserving clippings
DISADVANTAGES
 Not very convenient in sorting and
filing the materials gathered
 Not convenient for platform use
THE CARD SYSTEM
ADVANTAGES
 Easy and convenient to remove from or
add to the pack new cards on any subject
 Much more convenient for use on the
platform in actual debate
DISADVANTAGES
 The debater may lose some of the cards
 Too small for long quotations or extracts
and for preserving clippings

 Is the precision or correctness of noting the sources of
information used in argumentation.
The researcher must be careful in copying quotations or
extracts from his sources of information.
Give credit to whom credit is due.

The researcher should look for all the available
information—facts, data, statistics, inferences—
on both sides of the proposition.
Get all the information available on every phase
of the question—political, economic, sociological,
aesthetic.

 Colleges and Universities have adequate libraries to meet
the needs of their students.
 In the Philippines we have the National Library.
 These libraries have published bibliographies and card
indexes. These make references handy.
 In some cases, students should consult their professors.

Assimilation is the process of converting the materials
gathered and determined useful to advance one’s case
into the fibers of one’s finished arguments.
Demands the constant application of the processes of
thought in the materials gathered until the ideas
expressed in them become a part of one’s stock of
information or knowledge.

THE ART OF ARGUMENTATION AND DEBATE

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THE ART OF ARGUMENTATION AND DEBATE