SPCH 71: Debate Propositions

kenneth g. opina, ma
DCLL / Summer 2017
proposition
debate
 PROPOSITION
comes from the root word
propose which means to offer for
consideration
a statement offered for
consideration, specifically a
statement made to others for the
purpose of gaining acceptance
after due consideration
a statement of judgment that
identifies the central issue in a
controversy
 OTHER TERMS
STATUS QUO
the present/existing state of
things

BURDEN OF PROOF
the risk of the proposition; the
obligation of the affirmative to give
good and sufficient reasons for
adopting the proposition.
CHARACTERISTICS OF PROPOSITIONS

controversy (topical in nature or

current)
one central idea
unemotional terms
precise statement of the
affirmatives desired decision
 EXAMPLES
Resolved: That the university
clubs deplore abortions and
lotteries as immoral.
Resolved: That the national
government should adopt a
program of compulsory wage and
price controls.
Mortgage rates are too high
everything is too expensive.
 EXAMPLES
What can be done to curb
inflation?
Resolved: That cruel, sadistic
experimenters should be
forbidden to torture defenseless
animals pointlessly.
Resolved: That vivisection should
be illegal.
 PHRASING THE PROPOSITION
(Freeley & Steignberg, 2000)

Significant Contemporary Problem

Equal conflicting evidence and
reasoning
Single declarative sentence
Avoidance of ambiguity
TYPES OF DEBATE PROPOSITIONS

Proposition of FACT

Proposition of VALUE

Proposition of POLICY
 PROPOSITION OF FACT
an objective statement that
something exists
the statement can be verified by
someone other than the person
making the statement
may be an object or event that
can be experienced directly by
the senses of sight, hearing,
touch, smell, and taste
 PROPOSITION OF FACT
Federal intervention in state
policies is unconstitutional.
Shakespeare was not the real
author of the literature that bears
his name.
America was first discovered by
the Norse.
Television viewing contributes to
the mounting crime rate.
 PROPOSITION OF VALUE
expresses judgments about the
qualities of a person, a place, a
thing, an idea, or an event
when you make a statement about
values, you move from the realm
of senses and inferences into the
realm of opinions and attitudes
evaluates an action or any subject
as whether good or evil,
advantageous or
disadvantageous, etc.
 PROPOSITION OF VALUE

Environmental protection is more

important than economic stability.

When they are in conflict, freedom

of speech is more desirable than
national security.
 PROPOSITION OF POLICY
a statement of a course of
action to be considered for
adoption
the spheres of policy
formulation include all those
problem areas deemed
appropriate for government
action
 PROPOSITION OF POLICY
Resolved: That the proposed tax
bill should be enacted.

Cyber Libel be decriminalized.

Divorce Bill be passed in

Congress.
 EXAMPLE: ABORTION
Life begins at conception.

The act of abortion is highly

immoral.

Abortion should be
decriminalized in the
Philippines.