Philosophy Debate Topics for Students — page 30

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• Keep in mind that a value is "that which one acts to gain and or keep", using the definition that Rand gave and my opponent agreed with, My opponent has made the mistake, it seems, of putting the cart before the horse: he claims that, because life would not be worth living or…
• Before addressing any of my opponent's particular augments, I first have to say that his overview of Objectivism in his first paragraph was on-the-money, and expanded an important point that may not have had a fully explicit explanation in my previous round - that morality is…

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• Pro has not claimed " Something comes out of Nothing". Pro uses the word "CAN". CAN as in possibility. I have clearly presented my argument for the possibility. No the pro has not speculated. Pro's position is all the possibilities are open when we cannot observe, Test and run…
• The Con is confounding "something" I. E. The whole Universe with merely matter and "nothing" with empty space. Without a doubt, The Big Bang Theory demonstrates that not only matter but also Space and Time had a beginning. We therefore are not talking about merely matter being…

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• ========== The Microcosm ========== I'll begin by pointing out that my opponent did not effectively respond to my presentation of Einstein's Paradox, which indeed has effectively combatted his faulty ideology of indeterminism. Instead, he continued posting information that the…
• ======== Clarification ======== I did not mean to insinuate that Con's arguments weren't his own, but to clarify that just because there are arguments against determinism, it doesn't make determinism false. The arguments against determinism are unsound. ========== The Microcosm…

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• Contention. Equivocation.My opponent's point regarding the categorical imperative is moot in regards to the topic at hand seeing as I am not defending it. Moreover, he seems to simply generalize based off of one opinion of the CI to conclude that all morality MUST NOT be based…
• Contention. Equivocation.My opponent begins by assuming that logical and moral justification are mutually exclusive methods of justification. However, as I showed in the last round, to justify a proposition requires the assumption of rationality. Thus, any moral proposition (in…

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• This debate will be an exploration into the concept of contradictions and to discuss whether or not a contradiction can exist. My position will be in defense of the following statement by Ayn Rand: "Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction,…
• I appreciate your response, examples, and patience XStrikeX. You stated "As stated in my first speech, I showed that paradoxes are contradictions". I would disagree that this was shown rather than stated, however I am willing to explore the possibility. It is true that the…

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• I have less than 30 minutes to think up a refutation and type this. I honestly regret having made such a lofty debate at this time. Anyway, I'm glad that my opponent pointed out that even a subjective reality is a reality, and reality need not be absolute to be called reality.…
• Ugh... So sorry for forfeiting, been so busy with work and friends; haven't had any time for debates. I do hope that this can still be a good debate.IntroductionMy opponent, who is most likely a reductive physicalist, would have you believe that physical objects are real. Here…

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• Quantum Mechanics:In regards to quantum mechanics, con says :"". .. even in a fully deterministic universe, we can be said to have free will. Well there you have it. In a deterministic universe, we "have free will. "Well remember con is arguing for libertarian free will. Now…
• I Guess I'll explain Schrodinger's equation at the end of this round. It's rather complicated. However, I included that equation just to show quantum mechanics is relevant. You're trying to disregard quantum mechanics, which is crazy because our universe is governed by quantum…

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• Unfortunately I will not be able to finish this debate due to unforseen circumstances. I thank Con for his understanding and an excellent debate.
• From my understanding of your argument concerning evolutionary morality, you say that morality is any action which is helpful towards the survival of others in a group. Is this always true? Certainly it is within the realm of imagination to say that actions, such as murder,…

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• True, but this debate is not about reality. It's about our perception of reality. The image we see. The apple we see is not the apple we see. It's a picture our mind creates in our head based on photons being reflected off a real apple and striking our retina. Colors are a…
• Someone standing behind you can see something you can't see. They can see the back of your head. That image exists only in their head. You can't see it.

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• Unfortunately, Immortal has forfeited round 2. I believe I have sufficiently refuted his arguments so extend my my counter-arguments and original argument. Thanks to anyone who reads this!
• Thanks to Immortal again. I will respond only to his relevant criticisms so I will be skipping some premises. Premise 1: Every temporally contingent being possibly fails to exist at some time. The premise isn't just probably true - it is analytically true. Con's rebuttal fails…

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• Vain, ego is not vanity as it is what men shave in and some women put on there outside mask, love is a need and lust are wants. Narcissist and self loathing have nothing to offer another but sorrow. What is a friend I ask myself, well a friend isn't much by them self because…
• Another adaptation of a loveless life is a pointless life. I love myself, I think am grand, when I'm all alone I hold my hand. I think one day I'll marry me and try and raise a family. First verse. I love myself, I think am grand, when I'm all alone I hold my hand. Second…

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• I forfeit this round because we will be stuck in another paradox...
• Yes it does, a paradox cannot make sense but must do so in order to make sense because that is the very definition of paradox. You claim that it doesn't, but in reality it does, whether you like it or not. I just created another paradox by saying that. You mad bro?

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• This debate could easily have ground down into wrangling about the definition of "morality" and "practical". I'm so glad it didn't. Many thanks to my opponent for allowing the discussion to stay open, even if it has meant that we are using those words in different ways. It's…
• Con said: "I do not support Pro`s main argument that moral instinct has evolved in humans."Not only are the moral instincts of empathy, reciprocity and fairness ubiquitous in the human species, they have also been shown over and over throughout the primate order (1-3), which is…

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• I think money is the most important thing in life. Without money, we cannot pay bills, buy good food, cannot have good life standard. Without money, people cannot do anything.

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• Thank you for your argument. Well, if we look at this problem from the evolutionary side. We evolved from previous species of genus Homo and other pre-mammal's, but as we and you know there is no evil in any animals and other species. So where did the evil naturally come from.…
• G"day and Thank you for joining my debate. And Ill be quick. Evil is the fear that we all know that is bad. But I would like to say that absolute evil cant exist naturally. Because of animal or any other species could be evil. Even humans, that are very intelligent, cant be…

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• I'll keep it simple, man can not go against nature, no matter how much he tries,in the end he can not

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• Extend all arguments.
• I meant natural rights. The right to live and not be acted aggressively upon. Don't use semantics, I've made it clear that we're discussing abortion.

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• my previous argument,if read carefully,provides all the ans.There is only 2 things in this world-yes/no,black/white,ie opposites.Thus,2 types of lives are present-one imaginative,other non-imaginative.there are no more alternatives.And as per your arguments,I feel that you have…
• As my opposition suggests in his 3rd point,I would like to say that imagination is not seeking the unknown,but it is the evaluation of all the possibilities that future may have proposed for us.As for your first argument,i would say that there is only 2 things in this…

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• zzz
• mental emotion is 50 50 positive and negative joy is physical not mental

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• I apologize for any confusion. I am going to be debating the point that in ALL cases, humans are predisposed to be followers. However, you are more than welcome to introduce any ideas that will add to the validity of the debate. Thank you for asking for the clarification! Good…
• Hello! I am new to debating on this website and have been reading through many fantastic debates. This particular topic is one I have been intrigued to debate. There are many opinions out there that humans by nature were born to lead. I am on the contending end as I believe…

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• Resolved: Plato's Republic is a rhetorical attempt to curb political extremism Ob. 1: First, it must be noted that Plato's Republic is a dialogue – it is a conversation between Socrates and his "friends" near the Athens in the port town of Piraeus. Dialogues, in ancient Greece…
• Hi...as the resolution prescribes, this is a debate over a specific interpretation of The Republic. ==Definitions== The Republic is indeed The Republic by Plato... 1) Rhetorical: Expressed in terms intended to persuade 2) Curb: Restrain or keep in check 3) Political Extremism:…

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• I'd like to apologize for being unable to post my argument, I did not have access to a computer with the capabilities to post my argument. Anyways, I was mistaken, being that life is a fallacy, rather than a paradox, so my apologies there as well. Anyways, back to the argument:…
• I figured I'd follow the curve of the most debates and state that round one is the introduction, ideals, etc. I stand on the basis that the life cycle of a human is a predetermined course of events, and since it is a constant cycle, a paradox. I'm interested in seeing what the…

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• You know, I WOULD respond to his R3... but intuition tells me what I'd say would be against the terms of service of this site. On top of that, I know that it's against the rules of debate since I can't bring up any new arguments - i mean, logical fallacies, in the last round.…
• Well, I did as my opponent requested and took the test. I looked up IQ test on Facebook, since he didn't specify any test in particular. The one I took says I'm a 138, but I assume it's higher since I waited out the five or so minutes near the end. Forgot that time factored…

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• I forgot to mention that my opponent did not follow the rules established. The rule established was that they would use the first round as their opening statements, and that in the last round they wrote nothing but "thanks for the debate". Because he did not follow the rules…
• Rebuttals"With the ice-cream issue, here is another interesting point. Why is ice-cream bad? It is unhealthy. Why? Lot's of fat ad sugar. Why is that bad you ask? It damages the body. What is wrong with that? You can be ill, die or face painful retribution. What is wrong with…

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• modern lifestyle causes moral decadence because of a few factors 1)social media 2)Parents

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• I would like to remind the audience of the definition of paradox established earlier, "a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. " My opponent himself has asserted that the paradox is absurd by declaring that…
• Very well; I shall accept and make the first argument, thus intending to pass on the last round as you have requested. I would like to thank you for this interesting debate which is sure to reveal some interesting thoughts and ideas, as well as to wish you the best of luck. My…

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• Evil: The tendency to commit actions aimed at self interest rather than for the benefit of a group.
• Well, I can see by opponents avatar that he is already possessed by the devil. The fact that my opponent has attempted take control of the debate and making unreasonable demands clearly reveals that my opponent has evil intentions and wants to win at all costs. My opponent…

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• Not sure why you think the study of knowledge is a scam, or more specifically a pyramid scheme. All I can figure is that's because you can study it in college. But someone taking it in college is receiving benefits for their payment. It puts them in a room with other people who…
• I accept your apology, and suppose I should offer one myself. I get somewhat hostile when I feel someone has put words in my mouth, but I will give Jack the benefit of the doubt, and believe that was not intentional. I apologize if any offense was taken from my previous round.…

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• Defense of foundationalism This debate has taken a rather interesting turn. I admit I was a bit taken back upon reading my opponent's response initially. On the justification of foundationalism, the argument runs simply for the most part. The first point or premise is that one…
• First I'll simply list my position in syllogistic form. Then I will move on to defend each of the individual premises.P1: Any maxim or proposition may only be justified through communicative argumentation.P2: Any norm necessarily presupposed as a pre requisite for argumentation…

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• Um... what?
• "I am forfeiting because I am not going to argue against my very own created theory. This is wack!!"I win.

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• Since the middle exists in mathematics its nature is a number but which number lets say its number 3 that number is positive the middle of 3 is 1,5 that number is positive the middle of 1,5 is 0,7 this becomes infinitely small until it reaches zero but does it ever become equal…
• Ok I understand what you mean.You need to distinguish those things in order to keep the laws I get it now yes you must be right.Maybe mathematics is not how I should go about this do you believe that an idea that is both positive and negative at the same time can exist?I…

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• Arguably we are talking about the complexity of a being including the necessary brain (unembodied in this case) necessary for all minds and information storage or processing power we are aware of. However, this round I will focus on the mind itself based on standard…
• This is simply exploring a hypothetical since we obviously can say nothing about a disembodied mind and have no evidence that any such a thing does or can exist. Our agreed upon BoP is shared. The human brain is a product of 3.6 billion years of evolution [1] and is the most…

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• This topic has been discussed since the earliest of times and involves religious, ethical, and scientific implications. In the realm of theology, the Creator does not assert His omnipotent power over individual will thereby allowing humans to make choices. On an ethical plane,…
• Harlan, the definition of science is:" ability to produce solutions in some problem domain." It is a fact that solutions that were valid yesterday, may become invalid today based upon further research. Sometimes, the scientist comes to a conclusion based upon flawed data making…

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• For technology to be popular and effective in the sense being presently discussed, it has to have a motivational edge that can act on a person's self interest. To this end, the engineers
• that's okay, I know how crazy it gets sometimes

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• I'll accept. This seems it'll be an interesting topic. Though before proceeding, could you possibly elaborate more on what I have to prove to you?

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• AveMy opponent concedes the debate. He asks me to answer a question "if I have the time", but sadly, I don't have time.Vale
• AveCon concedes the debate. Vote for me.Vale

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• But illusion is something different like a dreamhttp://dictionary.reference.com...1. something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.you can not change it, ... and you can not destroy it. It is a system with can not be destroyed or changed.These…
• Definitions: 1) Reality - The entirety of the visible universe including all matter, energy, life, and thought.2) Program - A non man made medium or device of sufficient sophistication to contain a symbolic representation of actual or imagined entities.Since a part of reality…

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• nature is logic, logic is cause and effect, no causeless effects can exist and no effectless causes.. for eksample, as a cause causes... and as nature is life, so a god didnt create us
• machines are mechanical reality is logic.. logic equals cause and effect if god cause reality it would be a machine, nature is random, not mechanical

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• I've never done a devil's advocate debate for dualism before, but I hope to be able to defend the position. As Con quoted dualists fall into different camps. I will simply defend the thesis that the mind and the body are two different, distinct metaphysical entities. The Zombie…
• Con has allowed me to take the last round. Mind/Body Correlations Con states he didn't merely show there existed correlations, but there existed causation too. I see no importance. Even if this is important, my arguments still stand, more so than ever since causation clearly…

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• P1: My opponent here claims that we can't know whether something can come from nothing or not. However, this isn't the case. When I say something coming from nothing, I mean something randomly popping into being for no reason. If this were possible, we would see this happening…
• Hello, it's good to be back! I apologize for fore fitting some of my debates. Here is the kalam cosmological argument: -Whatever begins to exist has a cause -The universe began to exist -Therefore, the universe had a cause Defense of P1: It's silly to think things can just pop…

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• truth can only be in the past, past dosnt matter, now is matter true is true
• i am human, the tv dosnt tell me what Is real truth can only be in the past, and only now is true, and the future is unknown

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• Choice only in the Mind:Con defines choice only as the perception of choice, and ignores the consequences - on the objective world - of making choices. I am not merely talking about the perception of choice, but also the acting out of that choice. It is indisputable that the…
• Review:Con has contended that the concept of Free Will vis-a-vis choice and that of Foreknowledge exist in separate universes of discourse (UOD). For the purposes of argument, I will try to incorporate this concept in previously established formal framework.Based on Con's…

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• There are two solutions to the question: What is the cause of the ideas we have? 1. Minds- minds can create ideas. I can say 'giraffe' and you think of a giraffe. 2. Matter- the origin of ideas are caused by seeing things, each thing being a certain combination of qualities…
• Sorry i missed the deadline, lost track of time! Below is my argument. Causality You admit that a constant perceiver would solve the problem, but that God could not be it. I suggest that we don't need a God to solve the problem. The constant perceiver you suggest we need could…

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• Extend arguments.
• Extend arguments.

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• "You joined with the civil society, you have benefited in some way from the civil society, and now that the civil society has changed its rules, you, as a member of that society also much change." I don't disagree with that, but it is, nevertheless, an unfortunate indicator of…
• "to become a free individual they must exit our society. To exit our society, is to remove any debt of obligation to that society" In other words, society requires nothing of truly free individuals. So it follows that you agree with my premise that truly free individuals are…

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• The Kalam Cosmological Argument has been greatly used to 'prove' the existence of a supreme being which 'brought' the universe into being. The argument goes as follow 1. Everything begins to exist, has a cause of its existence. 2. The universe began to exist. 3. Therefore the…
• Thank you for such an interesting rebuttal!1. Con believed that I implied that the universe could begin to exist without a cause and that I need to back up my claim.NO! I didn't claim anything about the origin of the universe. I claimed that the method in which you used to…

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• I shall now conclude a nice debate.Fate, it seems, is base don wishful thinking and hope for certainty. Randomness, as I have shown, is the acceptance that no matter how much we wish to know things for certain, nothing at all is certain, even reality itself. My opponent has…
• What ifs and maybes are EXACTLY what this debate is about. This a purely philosophical debate about probability and possibility being discussed aside from standard reality. So my relation to this is very relevant to explain why randomness is more likely than fate.My opponent…

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• Thanks for the debate, Lannan. I am thoroughly perplexed by Con's organization of his rebuttal round, as he has completely changed up the structure of my argument, with random points being placed under the wrong contentions, all of the headers' names being different, and parts…
• Thanks to Lannan for his argument!R1) Humans are SelfishFirstly, this line of argumentation succumbs to both of the pre-emptive objections I put forth last round in the 'ethical justification' section: just because humans *are* selfish doesn't mean they *should* be selfish, and…

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• Your arguments are better than I expected. --------------------------------- Your arguments: 1. An endless loop of contradiction 2. 'There are actually some that do apply all the time' i.e. "Do what results in the most happiness, both for you and others, both now and in the…
• "Philosophy" is defined as: A theory or attitude held by a person or organization that acts as a guiding principle for behavior. In other words, "Philosophy" is a generalization describing vaguely how individuals should act. Because it's a generalization, no given philosophy…

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• Wait, what do you mean by fancy express nachos. I WANT ME SOME!!!
• Yay