“What makes a great debater? You have to listen. You have to be intellectually honest. You have to be open to learn.”
In every aspect of our lives, we engage in debate. But at the same time, many people are tired of fighting toxic keyboard warriors online or aggressive acquaintances who like bringing fake facts to the conversation. David Africa and Tobi Leung, this year’s World University Debating Champions, want to change the way we view debate. For them, debating lets you learn a lot more about how other people see the world. In debating, you learn to criticize your own worldview and widen your perspectives.
To understand the importance of debate, both formal and informal, in our society today, Fr. Tito Caluag and his trio of distinguished thinkers—Manolo Quezon, Leloy Claudio, and Carlo Santiago—talk to this college debate duo, who have just set history by becoming the first Southeast Asian and Filipino team to win the prestigious World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC).
Paano kapag galit o aggressive ang kausap mo? Paano kapag nagsimula nang magbigay ng fake facts? Bakit kailangan makipag-debate sa senado, sa classroom, o sa bahay?
“In building a society, we want that society to be willing to debate because with debating, you are willing to listen and you are willing to change.”
