I really feel like we're setting ourselves back as people and as a society because our approach to debating and arguing is really skewed. We see it as an opportunity to be proved right and incite others to adopt our reality or our point of view. It's so easy to refute another's arguments by systematically taking the ones that aren't as coherent and focusing on them, while ignoring the ones that successfully challenge and defy our views. Arguments often take a turn for the worse with nonsense, ridicule, and intimidation, both parties eventually engaging in a sort of meta-argument. Even when we are sticking to the content, we're using everything from emotional appeals, to sarcasm, to exaggeration. We chose our words in a very particular way in order to influence people. It's almost never purely informative. Simple rhetoric proves nothing. As  Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, "We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the way in which is has been expressed is unsympathetic to us."

I think the model of debate that we seem to cling to partly due to our stubborn, self-righeous, opinionated nature is grossly inadequate. Argumentative discussions shouldn't be all about forcing your opinion on others. It shouldn't be a You vs Me thing. I think arguing should be more of a You + Me thing, you know? Two or more people collaborating in order to get one step closer to the truth. Everyone involved offers a helping hand in the quest to being better informed.

We need to realize that there no such thing as being unbiased. We all see the world differently because of our varying social, economic, and cultural standpoints. By using the experiences and technical expertise of others, viewing every piece of information with an open mind, the bias meter starts to go down as the objectivity one goes up. By accepting that your views may be right or wrong and constantly seeking not to prove something, but to gain awareness, congruent information and conflicting evidence, you and the person with whom you are arguing may still have diverging points of view, but you will be better able to support them in an objective manor.

So, instead of attacking or belittling those who think differently than me, I pledge to consider and weigh out every single argument they offer and respond accordingly, appropriately and consider their words carefully. I will see the debate as a give and take information/experience-based exchange with someone who is on the same side as me, in this crazy, life-long battle against misinformation, preconceived notions, misconceptions, stereotypes, fallacies, illusions, delusions.. But I digress. Just wanted to share my thoughts on the matter.