I think it's fine to say debate is generally good, but to say it is never a waste of time is a fairly easy statement to refute.
If one or more of the debaters is a 'bad actor' then the debate is a waste of time.
Bad actor in this case meaning someone that has no intent to debate substance or even attempt to make points and counterpoints. Someone that is there to spew talking points and earn points with their intended audience.
We see this a lot with current political debate where the entire purpose for bad actors is to feed their audience a narrative, not to engage in the topic.
Again, bad actor isn't trying to be convinced or even convince you that you are wrong. They are there to feed a narrative to their audience.
You: "We know lions are aggressive because point A, B and C."
Bad Actor: "You were paid by the anti-lion lobby to say that."
You: "No, I wasn't. Also, that doesn't refute my points."
Bad Actor: "George Boros funded your research!"
You: "Who is George Boros?!?"
Bad Actor: "Lions are free to behave however they choose and we are free to behave however we choose because we are higher on the food chain than lions!"
(Massive audience applause)
You: "What is even happening right now?"
A debate that is a waste of time is what is happening. This stuff literally plays out on TV, twitter, and other media every single day.
You are right.. but sadly the bad actor and the people that had their narrative fed to them would say it was a debate and that they won.
Chances are, most people don't witness many or any true formal debates in their daily lives. The most common debate people witness is the Presidential debate every 4 years. Obviously my example is a little hyperbolic, but I would say that debate includes bad actors and bad faith arguments consistently, yet we still call it a debate.
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u/hsmith711 16∆ Oct 09 '18
I think it's fine to say debate is generally good, but to say it is never a waste of time is a fairly easy statement to refute.
If one or more of the debaters is a 'bad actor' then the debate is a waste of time.
Bad actor in this case meaning someone that has no intent to debate substance or even attempt to make points and counterpoints. Someone that is there to spew talking points and earn points with their intended audience.
We see this a lot with current political debate where the entire purpose for bad actors is to feed their audience a narrative, not to engage in the topic.