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PREFACE

THIS book treats of the various ways of con

vincing and persuading men. While intended as a text-book for high schools and colleges, it is also adapted to the needs of the lawyer, the preacher, the teacher, the citizen; in short, to any one who is called upon and who is not?-to urge the acceptance of his ideas upon a hearer, or to refute ideas offered in opposition thereto.

In our schools and colleges the value of argumentation as an independent branch of study is now generally recognized. But numerous as are the treatises on argumentation, the subject of debating is usually treated in a single chapter, or not at all. This book aims to meet the needs not only of the expert in argumentation, but also of the practical debater. The average citizen is called upon to argue orally far oftener than he is required to present a written argument; and of what avail is his knowledge and logic if they cannot be utilized in the discussions of every-day life? However, any attempt to teach debate in a thorough and systematic manner must involve the study of argumentation generally, and this, in turn, involves practice in brief-writing and argumentative composition. A treatise on debate, therefore, must include the subject of argumentation in all its phases-analysis, evidence, proof, the different kinds of arguments and how to meet. them. But the present volume goes farther than this, and aims to show the student how he may utilize his training in writing when he is called upon to present his arguments orally before an actual audience and in the presence of an opponent who is waiting to reply.

Debate being primarily a disciplinary study, not an informing one, the ultimate purpose of instruction in this line must be to lead one to think for himself, and to think straight. It is therefore a difficult subject to treat in a formal manner. The endeavor has been, however, to develop the treatment in a systematic way, making all suggestions as specific as possible, giving attention to one thing at a time, and supplementing principles and theories with illustrative matter and with exercises for practice. The Appendices contain further illustrative and reference material for general use; the questions for debate, references, rules of parliamentary procedure, specimen debates, etc., will be helpful not only to the teacher in class work, but also to members of literary and debating societies.

HOW TO DEBATE

INTRODUCTION

I. THE ADVANTAGES OF DEВАТЕ

SIGNIFICANT among

tendencies in modern

American education is the revival and spread of the practice of debate in our schools and colleges. The debt of England to the numerous debating societies of Oxford and Cambridge has long been recognized, most of that country's distinguished orators and statesmen having received their first training in these societies. In America, within the past ten or fifteen years, there has come, in and out of the schools and colleges, a noteworthy revival of the old-time debating lyceum. Interscholastic athletics have been paralleled by intellectual athletics in the form of interscholastic debates.

The cause of this marked interest in debating among students is not far to seek. In the first place, it represents not so much a reaction against athletics-which is sometimes claimed-as activity along similar lines and through similar causes. As the typical American student of to-day is no longer the "pale" student, too ethereal for a vigorous physical life, so, on the mental side, he is no longer the simple "book-worm" wholly removed from the currents of thought and action in the great worldlife for which he is supposedly making preparation. He is now preparing to meet the demands of American citizenship, and by studying and discussing the economic, social, and political questions which are pressing constantly for solution is fitting himself for future leadership.

Practice in oral argumentation has many special advantages, among which may be mentioned:

1. Debating teaches one to think for himself. It conduces to logical, clear, and independent thinking. And this is a rare accomplishment, for few people really think for themselves. How many of our opinions and so-called "convictions," opinions which we hold as axiomatic, are borrowed from those with whom we have been associated. The process of debating is the crucial test as to the value of such opinions. Mere assertion or citing the opinion of another will not avail in debate, as one must state reasons for the faith that is in him. All propositions, opinions, and assertions come to the mind of the educated man punctuated with interrogation points. "Beware," says Emerson, "when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet." Many branches of study must be taken largely on the authority of specialists, but the discussion of debatable questions of the day opens up a field of subjects upon which authorities differ

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