Speech Construction & Ethics Bowl rules
What are the building blocks of arguments?
Premises.
Can someone tell me something that is in premise/conclusion form?
(Answers will vary)
Ex.
BP : Studying can help me get good grades
P2 : I want good grades
C: I should study if I want good grades
What is a base premise?
The building blocks of arguments, often times are assumptions. It is the base of the entire argument.
*le gasp* "How can you not finish your food?! There are starving kids in Africa!"
Relevance
"I think that someone should be allowed to steal bread to feed their family because the action causes more good than harm, which is why it is morally okay."
Utilitarianism
What category gives the most points in an ethics bowl speech?
Judge Questions (20 points)
How do you know if anything in the world is real?
You don't! You have to rely on some assumptions (base premises) in order for your arguments to work.
What is a base premise I could use when defending something relating to personal choice?
Autonomy is good and ought to be preserved.
P1: All mammals are cats
P2: I am a mammal
C: I am a cat
Validity of premises
"I think that someone will know what is the right decision, whether or not to steal bread, if they strive to be a virtuous person."
Virtue ethics
What would you do if someone has a flaw in their logical reasoning?
ex. "XY person is wrong because they are a poopy face!"
Identify WHY the person is wrong.
ex. We believe that how we look does not relate to the quality of our argument.
NEVER name drop fallacies.
What are the the three types of logic?
Deductive, Inductive, and Abductive
What is a base premise I can use when defending actions that do good to most people?
Utilitarianism
(whatever minimizes bad and maximizes good for the most people/causes the most net good are right)
P1: Penguins can swim
P2: All birds can swim
C: Chickens can swim
Contingency
"I think that no one should be allowed to steal bread no matter what, because if one person breaks the rules, we are giving everyone else the permission to. Rules are rules."
Deontology
How do you answer a good judge question/commentary?
Identify what part of your stance or base premise the question is attacking.
What do all fallacies have in common?
1. Premises don't logically lead to the conclusion
2. Premises are false
What is the difference between a base premise and a base moral premise?
Base premises are the core of any argument, and they do not have to be moral (ex. all cats are animals)
Base moral premises are value statements which assume what is right and wrong (ex. autonomy is good and ought to be preserved)
P1: Chickens are birds
P2: I have seen birds fly
P3: I have seen one chicken fly for like 3 seconds
C: Chickens can fly
Quality of the premises.
"Boooooo stealing!!"
Emotivism
What are some things that make a good speech?
1. Insight
2. Clear and organized
3. Charitability
4. Well supported
5. Accessible
How can you evaluate an argument?
Identify the relevance, cause and correlation, contingency, and validity and quality of premises
What would be a good base premise for the following issue:
"Teachers should talk about their opinions on controversial topic and teach because...
...we believe that knowledge is good and ought to be shared."
"People who buy multivitamin gummies are more likely to have better mental and physical health."
Cause/correlation
People who buy these gummies are more likely to take precautions regarding their health.
"One must not steal."
Prescriptivism