Category: Uncategorized

  • ISSA Leiden Reflections Part 2

    More Keynote Woes

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  • Return of the impressed

    Amsterdam Argumentation Conference, again

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  • Debate is not Argumentation; Arguments are Not Debates

    The ambiguous nature of debate and argumentation was on full display at the Doha ICDD. People used the terms debate and argument as if they were synonyms. The connection is unclear but also crystal clear for most of us. You’d think scholars would be more careful. The primary reason they are not careful is the…

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  • A Conference In Qatar

    I just returned about two days ago from delivering a paper at the First Annual International Conference on Debate and Dialogue hosted by Qatar Debate. It was an amazing conference with a lot to think about. Mostly I think this is because the conference forced everyone to complete papers before attending, something that would improve…

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  • What is a Good Student?

    We just had graduation here on our beautiful Queens campus. It’s been a while since I attended commencement, and I was immediately reminded of the joys of coming to these university-wide events. The most important joy, the thing I like the most, is meeting professors from the far-reaches of the University and hearing what they…

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  • What should be taught in a class?

    The fallacy of the begged question is not an error in argumentation but a powerful tool for the construction of good arguments. In a previous post, I asked: what debate format was appropriate for a social justice themed debate course? The begged question there is “what is appropriate for any course to do?” Is there…

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  • Blossoming Anger

    What I was listening to while writing this. Anger is like a man who wants to hit another and picks up a burning ember or excrement in his hand and so first burns himself or makes himself stink. Resentment is like swallowing poison and waiting for your enemy to die. ~ Attributed to Buddha It’s…

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  • What to Believe about ChatGPT

    I believe in science. Trust the science. What do these liberal dicta mean? Immediately for most people they mean “anti-Trump” in some form or fashion. They might also mean “not a conservative.” These phrases are polarized and perhaps worse than useless – harmful without their nutrients, like Wonder Bread rhetoric – stripped of the fiber…

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  • Summer Calling

    Reflection and Refraction on the Semester

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