All Asian 2007 Motions

Round Zero: Debate
THW eliminate the humor round from All Asians.
THW allow coaching during preparation time.
THS affirmative action for women in debate.

R1: Bioethics
THS the trade of human organs.
THW encourage for profit surrogate motherhood.
THW make genetic screening of fetuses illegal.

R2: Terrorism
THW try Guantanamo Bay detainess in their home
country.
THW bypass Pakistani authorities in the hunt for Osama
Bin Laden.
THW export suspected terrorists to countries that
allow torture.

R3: Elections
THBT the next American President should be elected by
a popular vote.
THW adopt fixed election dates in parliamentary
democracies.
THW ban campaign finance contributions from corporate
lobby groups.

R4: Pop Culture
THS the politicization of Hollywood.
THW exempt celebrities from national service.
THW legalize animated child pornography.

R5: Refugees
THS the repatriation of North Korean refugees.
THBT Palestinian refugees should be allowed to return
to their homeland.
THS the abolition of refugee detention centers in
Australia.

R6: Obesity
THW prohibit the sale of junk food in school.
THS the establishment of weight requirements for
models in the fashion industry.
THW place obese children under the care of the state.

R7: War and Technology
THBT America=92s allies should reject BMD.
THBT media facilities are legitimate targets in war.

R8: Sexual Politics
THBT male to female trans-sexuals should be allowed to
compete in sporting events as a woman.
THW abolish statutory rape laws for teenagers.
THW ban the use of social networking websites in
catching paedophiles.

Doubles: The Internet
THW ban websites that encourage suicide.
THW keep copyright law out of You Tube.
THW require pornographic websites to use =93.XXX=94 domain
names.

Octos: Environment
THBT airline passengers should be required to pay a
carbon emissions tax.
THW require compulsory environmental service for all
citizens.
THW end exploration for new sources of oil.

Quarters: NE Asia
THW comfort the comfort women.
THW assassinate Kim Jong IL.
THBT Taiwan should rejoin China.

Semis: Religion
THW not allow religious organizations to run
orphanages.
THBT shariah courts have no place in Islamic
democracy.
THBT parents should not have the right to deny medical
treatment to their children on religious grounds.

EFL Finals: Universities
TH rejects corporate sponsorship of academic research.
TH would prohibit military recruitment on university
campuses.
THBT affirmative action in universities should be
based on economic class rather than race.

Finals: Independence and Conflict
THW forcibly disarm the Tamil Tigers.
THW partition Iraq.
THBT the UN should recognize an independent Kosovo.

logical fallacies

1. Genetic Fallacy

instead of talking about the real argument itself, talks about the origin of the argument. <- irrelevant!

e.g. I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born. (Ronald Reagan)

2. Ad Hominem

ignores the merits of his/her opponents' arguments rather target at the persons who produce the arguments.

i. Abusive<- irrelevant!

ii. Circumstantial

point out the circumstance of the opponents themselves (they CAN have an ulterior motive and their arguments are still GOOD for OTHER people) >> only means you should be more careful, it doesn't mean the opposite is true!!!

iii. Tu Quoque

“you do it too!” <- hasn't really respond to the argument!

3. Ad Populam

the person appeals to bandwagoning, snobbery, or fear of being different than the majority in order to influence the other person

i. Bandwaggoning: “a lot of people do it!”

ii. Snobbery: “the elite do it!”

4. Appeal to Pity

emotional appeal <- irrelevant!

5. Straw Man

distort an opponent's position, directs arguments at this distorted position <- you've changed my point!

6. Appeal to force

7. Appeal to authority

EXPLAIN why he's credible/ more credible than the other authority

8. Appeal to Ignorance

lack of evidence =negation of the argument

9. slippery slope

10. false dichotomy

the arguer claims that his conclusion is one of only 2 options, when in fact there are other possibilities. he goes on to show that 1 option is outrageous therefore his preferred conclusion must be embraced.

key difference btw slippery slope & false dichotomy: SS. the disjunction maybe true (could be only 2 choices), the problem is how you get “not B”; FD. there are MORE options

11. alternate description

gives an alternate description of an object or event, and implying that under the new description the opponent's argument is flawed. [it's a fallacy if the original description is more appropriate]

e.g. take his son to a topless bar ~ “spend time with his loving father!”

12. composition [particulars -> whole]/ division

one mis-attributes properties of the whole to the part [division ]or the part to the whole [composition]

e.g. The Balboa Suspension Bridge was constructed using the strongest steel available, so the bridge must be extremely strong. >> what about the other parts of the bridge? what about a loosened nail? what about the design?

13. false cause [requires a causal chain]

mistaken a correlation for a cause

i. coincidence

ii. A causes B

iii. B causes A

iV. A and B both caused by C

14. hasty generalization [some particulars -> all particulars]

sample not typical: sample might be too small, or systematically biased

15. weak analogy

A has features WXYZ

B has features WXYZ

C has features WXYZ

D has features WXY, so it also has feature Z

16. begging the question

the arguer attempts to establish some conclusion P by appealing to some premises such that one or more of the premises illicitly assumes that P is true

17. affirming the antecedent / denying the consequent

attempting to fallaciously derive a conclusion from a conditional

e.g. if I had cake, I would be full; I'm full, so I had cake. (why? I could have had bread!)

.....; I didn't have cake, so I'm hungry. (really?)

Research Topics

Dear All,

These are the debate topics listed on World Debate Website. Now we've got work to do...

Ella

Afghanistan (e.g. failed democracy and drug production)
AIDS prevention (e.g. condoms, drug patents)
Anti social behaviour orders (ASBOs in UK & Ireland)
Assassination of heads of state
Ban hunting (e.g. fox hunting in UK)
Burma (e.g. Aung San Suu Kyi)
CCTV (use of)
Child care (e.g. for working mothers or maternity/paternal leave)
China and Taiwan
Citizen initiated referenda
Citizenship exams
Class action lawsuits (banning them)
Compulsory ID Cards
Condoms in Pornography
Consensual Cannibalism
Cuba (e.g. sanctions against)
Darfue & Sudan
Death penalty (e.g. 1000th execution in US, concept of “redemption”)
Established Journalism vs blogs/podcasts
Egypt (e.g. rise of Islamist political parties)
EU Commission (e.g. lection of)
EU Constitution/Budget
EU working language
EU/US relations (e.g. trade, terror etc)
Euro (e.g. Italy should abandon)
Exploration of Space (e.g. Mars, ISS, China)
Extended alcohol drinking licences (e.g. 24 hour pubs)
Face transplants, ethics of
Fault divorces vs no fault divorces
Freedom of labour movement (e.g. migrant labour in EU)
Free Speech (e.g. Wikipeadia)
Trade Unions (e.g. future of)
Gay rights (marriage, priests etc)
Honour killings
Human genetics (cloning, stem cells etc)
Human Rights and sporting events (e.g. Olympics in China)
Hybrid energy (e.g. hybrid cars)
Illegal Immigration (e.g. Spanish enclaves in Africa)
International Adoption (e.g. Romanian orphans)
International ban on whaling
International Challenge in business (i.e. industry moving from west to east) AKA Outsourcing
International emergency response force (e.g. Tsunami, Earthquake, New Orleans)
International extradition of terrorists (CIA flights to Europe) Also International Rendition
International laws on intellectual property (copyright, patents etc).
Internet music/film Piracy (e.g. BitTorrent etc)
Internet Pornography (e.g. .xxx domain names, child prono)
Internet regulation (ICANN)
Iraq, future of
Judicial independence (e.g. removal of a judge)
Korea (North v South relations)
Lebanon & Syria
Limit Free speech (e.g. Holocaust denial/incitement of terror)
Limits to self defence (e.g. shoot burglars)
Mandatory minimum sentences
Maritime Law (e.g. flags of convince)
Martial Law (e.g. French Riots)
Medical "fashion" (e.g. Bird Flu vaccine)
National/individual carbon quotas
Nuclear Power (e.g. environmental benefits)
Nuclear proliferation/disarmament (e.g. Iran)
Obesity in Children
Outing gay public figures
Parental consent for medial treatment of under 16s (including seeking an Abortion, obesity, MMR)
Parental responsibility for crimes of children
Performance enhancing drugs (e.g. sport)
Pensions (e.g make them compulsory)
Palestine

Pre-emptive military action (e.g. Israel v Iran)
Privacy of the Catholic confessional
Prostitution

Public vs Private education
Public-Private partnerships in infrastructural development
Religious dress in school/work (e.g. Hijab in France)
Religious education (e.g. what should be taught in state funded schools)
Religious law Vs National Law (e.g. canon law)
Respect for national sovereignty (e.g. in war on terror)
Respecting Ethnic Diversity (Muslims in France, travellers in Ireland, race riots in Sydney)
Retirement Age (raising it)
Rights of minority to homeland (Sri-Lanka, Basque, Kurds etc)
Russian economy
Salary cap in sport
Shoot to kill policy in war on terror (e.g. tube in London)
Social partnership
Social welfare vouchers
State funding for charity
State funding for sports
Tax incentives for artists
Telephone records (e.g. state monitoring private calls)
Term limits for politicians (e.g. Tony Blair, Robert Mugabe)
Testing on Animals (e.g. at Oxford)
Torture (e.g. use of in war on terror)
Traffic problems (e.g. Congestion charges, toll roads, mandatory car pooling etc)
Treatment of addicts (e.g. cold turkey or access to further treatment e.g. George Best's liver transplant)
Truth & reconciliation commissions
Try Saddam Hussein in private
Turkish entry to EU (including Cyprus issue)
UN (e.g. reform of)
Uganda Elections
War Crimes Tribunals (e.g. Croatian general)
Women's rights (e.g. in the Church, workplace, education etc)
Women in politics (e.g. Germany Chile)
WTO Negotiations (e.g. Agricultural subsidies)
Zimbabwe (democracy, constitution, elections)