RSA Debate: Lone Voice or Social Cohesion?

The quality of debates today leaves much to be desired. The RSA is stepping into this challenge to provide people an opportunity to debate well. The aim is not “point-scoring,” but to facilitate an exchange and testing of views to enable participants to engage civilly and to learn something from opposing viewpoints.

The format will have three stages. The first will be establishing the topic and parameters of the debate and grouping participants into (up to) 5 groups: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. In the second stage, participants will discuss their position among those who share their position. Here, participants will both seek the strongest arguments they can find and also the nuances and differences within their own position. A representative of each group will share the positions of the group. In the third stage, the groups will be mixed together for people to participate in debates with people who disagree.

The topic for this debate is, “The Lone Voice or Social Cohesion,” inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale The Emperor’s New Clothes.

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Host or Publisher RSA Fellowship