Good Arguments
How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard
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- ¥1,500
Publisher Description
‘Electrifying … A user manual for our polarized world’ Adam Grant, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Think Again
‘Important, compelling and wise’ Johann Hari, Sunday Times-bestselling author of Stolen Focus
How do you win an argument? How do you disagree without hard feelings? How do you debate in a way that moves the topic forward to an answer?
Arguments matter, because we have them every day. We do it with loved ones and at work, over which restaurant to go to and which social viewpoint is right or fair. We trust the people we elect to argue on our behalf. We trust the news to dissect the arguments different parties are proposing. We have a system of justice which trusts the better argument will win out.
Once, argument was taught and celebrated as a fundamental part of being a good citizen. But it isn’t anymore, and often we struggle to argue without furthering divisions, without hurt feelings or a useful progression of ideas at stake.
As a two-time world debate champion, Bo Seo has made a career out of arguing well. In this book, he provides the reader with an unforgettable toolkit to improve their own disagreements, so that the outcome of having an argument is better than not having it at all.
A thrilling adventure into the past and present of competitive debate, Good Arguments proves that good-faith disagreements can enrich our friendships, workplaces, and democracies — and in the process, our world.
Previously published as The Art of Disagreeing Well
About the author
Bo Seo is a two-time world champion debater and a former coach of the Australian national debating team and the Harvard College Debating Union. One of the most recognized figures in the global debate community, he has won both the World Schools Debating Championship and the World Universities Debating Championship. Bo has written for The New York Times, the Atlantic, CNN, and many other publications. Currently, he is a juris doctor candidate at Harvard Law School.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this enlightening introduction to the style, function, and variety of formal debate, Seo, a former coach of the Australian Schools and Harvard College debate teams, contends that the manner in which humans typically disagree is "painful and useless." Drawing on vivid historical vignettes, philosophy, and his own experiences on and off the debate circuit, Seo demonstrates effective methods for "achieving clarity" ("Start with the conclusion of your argument, and say the minimum amount required to prove it") and calls out common techniques used to derail and undermine debate, such as the straw man argument, which distorts or misrepresents the original speaker's position. Highlighting the ubiquity of disagreements over who should do the dishes, which government policies deserve support, and other personal and public matters, Seo asserts that debate is not something to be avoided, but that people must "save our energy for the right kind of disagreement" in order to "set ourselves up for a better conversation." Full of intriguing historical snapshots and practical advice, this is an inspiring study of how good-faith arguments can bring people together rather than tear them apart.
