Debate

Debate is contention in argument; strife, dissension, quarrelling, controversy; especially a formal discussion of subjects before a public assembly or legislature, in Parliament or in any deliberative assembly.

Debate is a method of formally presenting an argument in a disciplined manner. Through logical consistency, factual accuracy and some degree of emotional appeal to the audience are elements in debating, where one side often prevails over the other party by presenting a superior "context" and/or framework of the issue. The outcome of a debate may depend upon consensus or some formal way of reaching a resolution, rather than the objective facts. In a formal debating contest, there are rules for participants to discuss and decide on differences, within a framework defining how they will interact.

Debating is carried out in assemblies of various types to discuss matters and to make resolutions about action to be taken, often by voting. Deliberative bodies such as parliaments, legislative assemblies, and meetings of all sorts engage in debates. In particular, in parliamentary democracies a legislature debates and decides on new laws. Formal debates between candidates for elected office, such as the leaders debates that are sometimes held in democracies. Debating is also carried out for educational and recreational purposes, usually associated with educational establishments and debating societies. The major goal of the study of debate as a method or art is to develop the ability to debate rationally from either position with equal ease.

Talking shop

A talking shop or debating society is an organisation or place where discussion is the main activity, with no decisions or actions necessarily arising from the discussion. Talking shops may be considered unproductive, bureaucratic or self-serving and so may lack respect and power. The term "debating society" is considered derisive.

The term 'Talking shop' is usually used in a pejorative or derogatory sense; apparently fruitless discussion forums are often dismissed as talking shops.

The term has been applied to many political forums, including supranational bodies such as the League of Nations, the United Nations, the European Parliament, European Political Cooperation, the ASEAN, the Organisation of African Unity or devolved and autonomous bodies such as the National Assembly for Wales or the regions of England.

References

Society

A society is a group of people involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societies are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions; a given society may be described as the sum total of such relationships among its constituent members. In the social sciences, a larger society often evinces stratification or dominance patterns in subgroups.

Insofar as it is collaborative, a society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would not otherwise be possible on an individual basis; both individual and social (common) benefits can thus be distinguished, or in many cases found to overlap.

A society can also consist of like-minded people governed by their own norms and values within a dominant, larger society. This is sometimes referred to as a subculture, a term used extensively within criminology.

Society (disambiguation)

Society is a grouping of individuals which are united by a network of social relations, traditions and may have distinctive culture and institutions.

Society may also refer to:

See also

Society (play)

Society was an 1865 comedy drama by Thomas William Robertson regarded as a milestone in Victorian drama because of its realism in sets, costume, acting and dialogue. Unusually for that time, Robertson both wrote and directed the play, and his innovative writing and stage direction inspired George Bernard Shaw and W. S. Gilbert.

Origins

The play originally ran at the Prince of Wales's Theatre, Liverpool, under the management of Mr A. Henderson, opening on 8 May 1865. It was recommended to Effie Wilton, the manager of the Prince of Wales's Theatre in London's West End, by H. J. Byron, where it ran from 11 November 1865 to 4 May 1866 Robertson found fame with his new comedy, which included a scene that fictionalized the Fun gang, who frequented the Arundel Club, the Savage Club, and especially Evans's café, where they had a table in competition with the Punch 'Round table'. The play marked the London debut of Squire Bancroft, who went on to marry Effie Wilton in 1867 and become her co-manager.