Instigator / Pro
7
1417
rating
158
debates
32.59%
won
Topic
#2350

If you can only save one from a dangerous fire, a famous painting is preferable to a cat

Status
Finished

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

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

After 1 vote and with the same amount of points on both sides...

It's a tie!
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
3
Time for argument
Two days
Max argument characters
5,000
Voting period
Two weeks
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
7
1569
rating
12
debates
66.67%
won
Description

Premise: There is a fire in a museum with unknown causes. You MUST save one, a cat, or a famous painting. Whichever you decide, you are guaranteed to succeed, but the other will be completely destroyed/dead. You are unable to stop the fire. There is nothing else at stake, not other paintings, not other cats, not other people, except your own safety.

Famous: Well known, celebrated, renowned, many people visit this regularly

"You": A regular visitor of the museum

Cat: a small domesticated carnivorous mammal with soft fur, a short snout, and retractable claws. It is widely kept as a pet or for catching mice, and many breeds have been developed.

Preferable: The benefits would outweigh the negatives, and the majority of the time you should do this

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@seldiora
@Safalcon7

This was difficult to judge... I really don't like handing out ties. I RARELY do. Anyway, good job to both debaters.

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@Intelligence_06

Life holds intrinsic value.

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@Intelligence_06

A cat is alive and autonomous. A painting isn't.

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@TheUnderdog

It's just a clump of cells that can autonomously do stuff. How is a cat more valuable?

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@Intelligence_06

It's just a bunch of paint on a canvas. It's like when people value special coins. To me, I don't care how rare a certain quarter is. I don't care how good condition it's in; it's only worth 25 cents to me.

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@TheUnderdog

why not?

I don't see the value in art. I'm sorry art fans.

It'd be great with 10000 characters though. I had to cut through a lot.

What has the cat ever done for me?

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@Intelligence_06

Con's argument about how art is about how much story is behind it makes it interesting that saving the cat over the painting arguably is more valuable than the painting itself (as there are many copies of the painting). Even though they are not the original; the original's story lives on and the power of animal rights compared to human creativity is brought up, which could inspire a lot of people. It's a little bit of a fallacious argument, but not entirely impossible for con to edge out a win (especially since I'm not Oromagi or Ragnar)

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@seldiora

Then I choose the painting. The painting, everyone knows it is valuable. Unless it is Picasso's cat or DiCaprio's cat, it is incomparable.

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@MisterChris

Just a normal cat. It would only be notable if some person saved it, sacrificing the painting and giving the illusion that the cat was even more important.

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@seldiora

An unnotable cat is comparable to a blank canvas.

I remember this.

is this a particularly notable cat?