Tag Archives: Theory

I have seen many cases around the circuit lately that accuse philosophical frameworks of everything from sophistry and disingenuousness, to being culpable for the Columbine school shootings. In contrast, I think philosophical debate is good, I think students should be encouraged to learn and engage in it, and I think …

Why I Miss the “NC, AC” Roadmap: How Competing Interpretations Has Ruined Theory Debate by Daniel Imas Over the past few years, debate appears to have become esoteric to an unprecedented level. The increasingly common use of dense philosophy and the preponderance of theory debate have certainly contributed to this …

Tycoons of Piety: On constructing a delineation between acceptable and unacceptable argumentation Article by Rebar Niemi A recurring and perniciously unresolvable discussion about debate is the question of what arguments are acceptable and what arguments are not. Norms of acceptability can be educationally premised, based on rules of common conduct …

Avoiding Frivolous Theory: The Benefits of Pre-Round Resolutional InterpretationsArticle by Steven Adler I. Introduction This article discusses ways to avoid having frivolous theory run in debate rounds. Specifically, I argue that individuals should engage in pre-round discussion with their opponents to clarify the resolutional interpretation for that round (or, as …

The Need to Streamline Theory Debate Article by Fritz Pielstick Theory debates, far more often than case debates, are messy and difficult to properly resolve. This problem is compounded by the fact that the short speech times in LD incentivize debaters to overinvest time on the theory debate, which causes …

On Truth-Testing and Comparing Worlds: Theory in LD Debate Part 1 By Jeff Liu The debate over the truth-testing and comparing worlds paradigms has often been presented as an abstract theoretical question that has little practical application in debates. In this article, I hope to dispel this notion by exploring …

Piece by Ryan Lawrence, Director of Forensics at Lynbrook (CA) Introduction Recently, there has been some discussion in the LD community over the role of competing interpretations and the status of theory debates. Some members of the community have proposed that under competing interpretations, a counter-interpretation on theory represents an …

NSD Original Content. “‘I Allow for More Discourse’: Why Micropolitical Debaters Should Have to Flip Aff.” Article by Steven Adler, Staff Writer. Jalon Alexander of Bodine (PA) reads a micropolitical position affirming against Nathan Lintz of Needham (MA) in the run-off round of the 2011 TOC. Bodine JA v Needham …

by Daniel Moerner Before judging Octas at Valley, a debater asked the panel the following question: “Do you believe that competing interps implies an RVI?” To my surprise, the rest of the panel said yes. I think the rest of the panel was deeply confused about theory debates. It is …