Instigator / Pro
7
1702
rating
77
debates
70.13%
won
Topic
#1843

The futility of "if"

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
3
0
Better sources
2
2
Better legibility
1
1
Better conduct
1
1

After 1 vote and with 3 points ahead, the winner is...

fauxlaw
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
3
Time for argument
Two days
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
Two weeks
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
4
1470
rating
50
debates
40.0%
won
Description

Since it is April Fools’ Day, I will celebrate by offering a revised challenge of “if.” This one varies slightly from the first, and will, hopefully, deter argumentative definition of words as a feature of the debate.

Therefore, this debate’s challenge, is: “’If’ is not utilitarian because it only acknowledges what is currently not true.”

Definitions:
Utilitarian: useful by intentional-purpose activity. Frequency of use is not a factor, even when used frequently. A thing may be used frequently, or not, without meeting the intentional-purpose qualification. For example, using a flathead screwdriver as a wedge to pry one object from another, such as a lid from a bottle, may be useful, but that is not the intended use of a flathead screwdriver. Therefore, in the context of the debate, “if” is a word that introduces a non-utilitarian value that cannot attain value until the condition of the “not true” changes to “true.” It is the conditional statement of an if/then proposal that must change; not the definition of ‘if’ and/or ‘utilitarian.’

Theory: A scientific concept proposed which has not yet earned “fact” status while still called a theory, regardless of its pervasive use in scientific protocol as a fact. Example: the Theory of Relativity.

Acknowledgement: Recognition of a condition that is currently either true or not true. The ‘if’ statement is the qualifier of a true/not-true condition, but is not the vehicle to change one condition to the other.

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@blamonkey
@fauxlaw

Thanks. You guys are helping me grow as a debater!

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@blamonkey

Thanks for voting with a detailed analysis.

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@fauxlaw
@User_2006

This is blamonkey circa 2020 voting on this debate:

https://i.pinimg.com/474x/86/fd/bf/86fdbf4d0b1fc2e6afb55929c87c7f24.jpg

Bump. This needs votes.

Bumping over spam to encourage other voters.

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@Vader

Sorry this comment is not just for you. it is for anybody who can vote. I just somehow typed SupaDudz when I didn't mean to.

If I get time I will

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@fauxlaw

I would suggest you put the topic IN the title next time so no one would exploit this as I did.

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@Vader

C'mon, let's vote.

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@User_2006

I like how you handled the last round, offering a point I had not considered, and you raise a good argument. However, I consider the debate title as just a catch phrase, like an advertising hook to drawn interest. The real debate subject is in the description:“’If’ is not utilitarian because it only acknowledges what is currently not true.”

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@fauxlaw

Is there any limitations to what I can and can't do in each argument? Do I have the privilege of refutation in round I?

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@Barney

I mean by such notions that have been, historically, but may begin to have cracks with String Theory, for example, treated as fact. Example: the speed of light is the maximum achievable speed. And that black holes are total gravity sinks.

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@fauxlaw

What do you mean? The Theory of Relativity is also a theory in and of itself.

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@David

How, then, do you explain science's use of Einstein's "Relativity," which has always had the predicate, "Theory of...?"

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@fauxlaw

You're wrong about the word "theory."

Theory: A scientific concept proposed which has not yet earned “fact” status while still called a theory, regardless of its pervasive use in scientific protocol as a fact. Example: the Theory of Relativity.

In reality, a theory is "an explanation of some aspect of the natural world that has been substantiated through repeated experiments or testing." Example: The Germ Theory of Disease