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Can someone direct me to a Ben Shapiro video wherein he debates another professional debater and not college students in a Q&A ?

Burnley123 · 41-45, M
I'd love to see that.

Shapiro is a skilled debater but it's about his technique not substance.

His ideas can be easily deconstructed. Some of the shite he says is ridiculous actually. He says Keynesianism had never worked, that Glenn Greenwald was a self hating jew anti semite and most American regulatory agencies should be abolished.

If you can talk quick and know some debate skills then you can get away with any shite.
GunSmoke9 · 56-60, M
@Burnley123 Why won't AOC debate him? He made an attempt.
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@GunSmoke9 sitting politicians almost never debate pundics because its one sided in terms of accountability. The politician has a record to justify and the pundit doesn't.

I remember a Dutch politician once getting so outraged by Noam Chomsky that he challenged him to a debate. It was an arrogant move, compounded when the Dutchman made a complete arse of himself and stormed out of the meeting.

In addition, Shapiros claim to want a debate for the noble reasons of finding a shared understanding and advancing intellectual discourse... Well its disengenuous. Shapiro doesn't debate like that and has even said himself that his main objective in any debate is to humiliate the other person. Shapiro knew she'd refuse and was doing it as a publicity stunt.

Chomsky vrs Shapiro is done thing I'd love to see. Even in his eighties, the Noam is formidable.
Kwek00 · 41-45, M
Are you like an "Anglosaxon"?
Because I'm always amazed how much english people that share a common ancestry (Great-Britain - common wealth included - and the USA) love their debates. In the English language region these "debates" are a real competition and excersise in schools. A debate puts two opposing sites against eachother and they oppose eachother by argumentation. But one of the characteristics of a debate is that people have to defend their position and that a jury (outsider) decides who won the debate.

This leaves me (an outsider) a bit amazed. Because this kind of conversation has the tendency for people to dig themselves in and barricade their position. Often students need to study a position they themselves don't really believe in, but that's the excersice and the goal is to win it.

Where I come from, "debates" are ussually kept in parlement. Where the outsider (the voter) can make up their mind about what choice they will make in the booth. But in schools this form of conversation is used way less often.

We have more the idea of a discussion. This is less regulated and the goal of a discussion is to reach a higher form of "truth" for both parties. So parties don't have to defend things they don't like, they don't need to win, the idea is to reach a higher understanding and not be bound to one opinion in an almost dogmatic level. This delivers way less "explosive" television to watch, but it creates really intresting conversations and allows both actors to adapt their position to the ideas that the other side represent. In a "debate" this would be seen as weakness and it will loose you "points".

Shapiro is a "debater". He twists and uses rhetoric to trick you into submission. He also doesn't want the person he talks too to really change their opinion, his goal is for the 3th party (you the viewer) to be perceived as "strong". This feeling of "strength" creates the idea that the strong party is "correct" even though there are flaws in logic. People are also not made to think "fast" on serious toppics (read: Kahneman - thinking fast/slow), so in a debate it's quite easily to blow up. These toppics are verry difficult, loads of facets, extremely nuanced... and the person that prepared the best and can hammer the nail in the quickest ussually wins for the 3th party. Because they perceive information just as quickly as the other person uttered it, didn't have the time to really think things trough, and act upon "feelings".


But if you really want to see this "spectacle" (because honestly, it makes up for amusing television) just search on youtube: "Shapiro debates proffessor". And you will get more hit then just one. However, all these things fall into short quick narratives where both parties don't have much time to think about eachothers position. And Shapiro (making a lifelyhood of this) is trained to take the high ground and show strength. It's not about truth, it's about recruiting. It's not about the person he talks too, it's about the people that watch and look up to him.
Kwek00 · 41-45, M
@Burnley123 It was pretty long too 😅
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@Kwek00 Not 5,400 words so you are getting more concise. 😜
Kwek00 · 41-45, M
@Burnley123 This debate thing... I mean, for english people it's part of the dominant hegemony. It's normal and certain people look up to it and consider it a source of true wisdome. I'm not saying people that make good debates and arguments aren't smart... but sometimes it looks to much like a boxing match. It also creates this narrative of "destruction". "Person X" totally destroys college students ; Person x annihalates college proffessors. Sometimes I'm watching these videos and I wonder where the cataclystic event actually takes place? But I think it's more of a "believe" because people identify with a side (like a sports-game) and they are just happy that their side comes out as "strong".

How I believe you need to look at a debate (but again my BELIEVE) is to listen to all the arguments. Take your time, listen to them again, take more time, sleep over it, try to figure out if it actually makes sense AND THEN form your opinion and see if you learned something. This "total destruction" thing, for me, is totally unhealthy. It doesnt look for "truth" it's just the enforcement of ideas that are presented by a dominant actor, and people that feel good about being in the same camp. It rarely changes minds on a rational level, but people will switch side because they don't want to be in the "weak"-camp.

For me... if you let this sytem go on for a long time. And you perceive politics as a "boxing-game" where you need to pick a side and your side needs to win at all costs. This enhances polarisation and makes certain toppics impossible to discuss in depth. Sharing of ideas and trying to figure out if you are right, growing, creating new outlooks, ... it all gets reduced to "winning". And "winning" no matter what! Twisting facts, using psychological loopholes, playing on emotions, demagoguery, ... it's just about the trill of being a winner. This polarises things and has the real potential to end up in conflict that might turn extremely violent. If there is no possibility of a conversation between two sides, if the other side has been "perceived" as impossible to talk too, irrational, less them human.... the only way out of this believe-system is to annhilate and destroy your opponent in a physical sense. (this is a concequence of debates, because you can't really engage or have a nuanced opinion, because weakness will lessen the chance of winning and it's about winning. If you dig in deep both sides are impossible to have a conversation, they are just preaching to the crowd) Does this always happen? No... but it creates the potential to do so, and we should all be weary of it. It's not rational, it's "believes" and "feelings.
firefall · 61-69, M
doubtful, he doesn't like equal competition
@firefall

It sort of seems that way. I can't seem to find any real debates.
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@SW-User

That's sort of the impression i'm getting.

After all, i can easily win a fight against someone half my size and look like a beast. I might look a lot less impressive against someone my own size.
GunSmoke9 · 56-60, M
@SW-User He wants to debate AOC, but she won't debate him. What is she afraid of?
SW-User
He debates college students who are never challenged so of course he kicks their ass. I kick Ben's ass, but the questions he deals with are giant soft balls.
SW-User
@Burnley123 [image deleted]
Burnley123 · 41-45, M
@SW-User Good job buddy. I'm proud of you. 😜
SatanBurger · 36-40, F
@Burnley123 It's true, going back to your first comment on this thread (again lol) it's kind of like me with evangelists. I know every argument that's going to come out of their mouths because I've debated with them enough.
Allelse · 36-40, M
Who is Ben Shapiro?
@Allelse

lol yes i've heard that one too...by a hollow earther.

The nazis didn't kill 6 million jews, only 60 thousand, so no biggie.
Allelse · 36-40, M
@Pikachu Bahahaha! Yeah no biggie. I mean bloody heck, 5 people is too many to be killed in the name of racial/religious genocide.
@Allelse

lol yeah, he definitely came off as a nazi sympathizer.
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SW-User
I can't. He only debates college students to make himself seem more intelligent.
Ryannnnnn · 31-35, M
Look up Ben shapiro and Sam Harris
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MrSimons · 41-45, M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE0Z2k6BJI0

I am not sure if Piers Morgan counts as a professional debater, but he does seem to like to debate a lot. I am not really sure where you got the idea that Ben Shapiro only debates college kids. A quick Google search would disspell that notion.
SW-User
I have yet to find one :v
I think I saw it once but it was about whether jihad is a good or bad word or something pointless sand semantic like that
@SW-User

Yeah i don't think he's really done it. Sort of gives an inflated impression of his actual sill or even the validity of his arguments.
SW-User
@Pikachu his arguments are targeted at weak ideologies of modern innovations and movements :/
It's not surprising that this would be his focus considering he is among college students all the time

Greater debates take an in depth historic analysis >_>
I respect his circumventing of putting himself in hypocritical or poor foundation. I just remembered another one where he debated transgender people about whether or not they can call themselves the opposite gender respectively :v
Lindaisfun · 26-30, F
[youtube=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gUou3N7dtdw]
@Lindaisfun

Well i guess newscasts are one step above college students, although it's still far from an actual debate.
Not to mention that one of the clips IS him and a college student.

 
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