Instigator / Pro
8
1417
rating
158
debates
32.59%
won
Topic
#2457

Global Warming is a more pressing issue than Abortion

Status
Finished

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

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
0
6
Better sources
4
4
Better legibility
2
2
Better conduct
2
2

After 2 votes and with 6 points ahead, the winner is...

MisterChris
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
14
1762
rating
45
debates
88.89%
won
Description

I've been curious which issue is more concerning

more pressing: more important, influential, should be resolved first

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@MisterChris

Yep, sounds about right.

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@whiteflame

Definitely. If I were PRO, I would have argued that:

a. Humanity needs to act now to stop climate change from irreversibly harming our planet.
b. If humans do not stop climate change, it will exacerbate our resource supply exponentially leading to mass death and conflict.
c. Banning abortion worldwide will no-doubt be a lengthy and hard-fought goal, meaning the world will miss out on addressing climate change. The direct impact is a resource crisis.
d. The eventual banning of abortion results in a population surplus, thus exacerbating the situation even more.

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@MisterChris

Oh there’s tons to cover here and both sides could build a solid case, but going down the rabbit hole of “what makes a human” is just asking for trouble outside of an out and out abortion debate (and, honestly, even then I have issues with it). Focus needs to be on the major comparisons, not on establishing uncertainty.

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@whiteflame

All good stuff. I can think of some refutations to the stuff about what a CON world looks like, but it would have definitely given me a lot more trouble.

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@seldiora

You absolutely could have, though I think you need to keep the focus on global warming and really emphasize how actions we take now are yielding consequences that can’t be reversed. Really getting into just how great of a problem global warming represents and hyping that harm, as MisterChris did with abortion, would have been a good start. Even better would have been to include a large argument about life on this planet and how anthropocentric views have led humans to view all other life as dispensable. Hype the importance of other life, and use the all life has meaning viewpoint of the pro-life movement to help build it.

As for addressing abortion, you needed to throw him off his rhythm. This isn’t about changing a policy regarding abortion, just about whether abortion is a greater issue. What does a world where abortions don’t happen look like? Deaths will still happen in droves, but how? Food security and poverty would actually come into play here. Addressing loss of life as an issue, regardless of when or how it happens, would have been a good direction. If we’re just shunting these people into a system where they suffer and die, are we really doing anyone more favors? Also, overpopulation and global warming have some nice connections you could’ve gone for.

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@seldiora

Also, I promise the Uncertainty Principle is a good argument, I just happen to be really bad at copy-pasting apparently lmao

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@seldiora

You could have won, I think. If I were in your position, I would start going through the worst possible estimates of death tolls, crop eradication, droughts, natural disasters, etc. Maybe factor in the possibilities of war over resources too. I think it also would've been beneficial for you to establish that in the status quo, what we are doing to curb global warming is not even close to enough. Additionally, there were some stuff I argued you could've turned against me that you didn't.

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@whiteflame

Anyway, thanks a lot for voting!

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@whiteflame

"Con loses a lot of ground by missing out on arguing the Uncertainty Principle, which would have put the weight on his side for this"

That was such a facepalm moment for me! Next time I use it it won't be a flop I promise xD

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@whiteflame

do you think I had a chance to win this debate? Maybe G.W Isn't the most pressing issue? Would food security, poverty stand a chance in your opinion?

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@seldiora

Gish galloping means to present a lot of individually weak arguments. As you can see, I've only made 3 main arguments. I would want the extra space to elaborate on my points more.

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@MisterChris

no. You could gish gallop if I gave you 30,000.

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@JRob

Can't blame you for thinking so. Choosing between two worldwide disasters based on their severity is an inherently egregious and unsettling topic

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@MisterChris

I've been thinking on how best to write this comment for longer than I'd like to admit.

Chris - respectively - it's more so witness and be uncomfortable. Your argument - as I've found often in reading your debates - is nothing short of a work of art.

But the position that you present here is... uniquely unpleasant.

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@seldiora

I will say, if you want a repeat on a topic like this, you need a higher character limit

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@JRob

Hopefully you see now where I am coming from at least?

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@JRob

Witness and be amazed JRob!

I'm at a loss for words that anyone can genuinely hold the position of Con, and I certainly hope that Pro does the topic justice...

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@seldiora

Since it's short, I'll bite.

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@seldiora

Good topic.

I would say abortion, since it has proven harms from either perspective on it; whereas the impacts of global warming (not to say climate change itself) depends much of speculation.

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@Barney

what do you think? Which issue is more pressing to prevent/vouch for?