How does Debate help in critical thinking

There is an excellent line between a debate and an argument. An argument is defined as an aggressive conversation where a person tries to compel others to agree to whatever he is saying and is usually marked by the absence of logic. But when it comes to a debate, a debate can be defined as a logical and sensible conversation between two or more people and is more formal in nature. The Debate is essential in the development of critical thinking skills and is often encouraged amongst individuals. In this article, we are going to focus on how Debate helps in developing critical thinking skills along with various other similar topics revolving around it.
But before we go ahead and answer our question, let’s brush up with the basics first.

What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is the process of logically sorting out debates, conversations, or arguments by rationally trying to establish a relationship between what is said. It helps in encouraging an individual to open his logical mind and indulge in some reflective and singular senile thinking. The biggest advantage of critical thinking is to ask questions and not accept anything as it seems.

By stating the meaning of both Debate and critical thinking, let's answer one of the basic questions about the two of them. 'How does debate help in critical thinking?’

Debate helps in the development of critical thinking to a large extent as it compels an individual to consider someone's less logic-based viewpoints along with their own.

Some ways how Debate can help in critical thinking are the following-

Helps you to develop critical thinking

Debate helps you to understand that argument is not the key if you want the people to hear from you. Debating is a practice of countering differences of opinions through logic-based arguments and helps in expanding our critical thinking skills. A debate helps an individual to explore new ideas and construct your mindset for healthy criticism. A debate is capable of balancing the element of skepticism in an argument and helps in the development of a positive attitude towards doubts and questioning. There are lot of blogs similar to huffpost which have tips and tricks about debate.

Helps in collecting your thoughts

By developing the art of critical thinking, you gain a quality for life as you start questioning anything that doesn’t agree to your understanding. This creates a level of curiousness, leading to research and logic-based questioning. Such an attitude often comes handy while dealing with various situations in life.

Types of critical thinking

There are three main categories of critical thinkers-

• The naïve critical thinker is someone who is unaware of his own thoughts and subconsciously registers and understands without thinking about it but never voices his opinions.
• The selfish critical thinker is someone who analysis a situation and tries to manipulate it to his way and level of understanding. Often, such thinkers apply logic as well as some amount of emotion to it to manipulate others into agreeing to him.
• The fair-minded critical thinker is someone who likes to be a better and fair judge of things and can analyze and reflect on a situation much sensibly than the other two. They want to understand the situation, but without being unfair to anyone, and because of this approach, it is usually accepted by all.
• Now that we understand the basics of critical thinking and the link between Debate and critical thinking, let's understand how we benefit from good critical-thinking skills.
• Critical thinking allows you to develop an analytical and reflective approach towards life and work and is often associated with a successful professional life.
• Critical thinking allows you to make informed decisions as far as your life is concerned as it allows you to weigh the pros and cons of any decision much more reasonably.
• Having good critical thinking skills allows you to filter your thoughts and present them in a more organized manner, followed by proper logic. This, in turn, strengthens your communication skills for life.
• It allows you to be a better manager as it helped you differentiate between logic-based thinking and emotion-based thinking. Such an attitude helps you to be practical in life and allows you to cope with various situations in life with ease.
• Critical thinking helps you to be immune towards criticism as you understand the difference between an emotional appeal and practical reasoning, allowing you to make informed choices.
• Critical thinking also makes you sensitive towards other’s perceptions allowing you to weigh other's opinions logically before making a decision.

What can you take away from this article?

The Debate is a powerful tool towards developing critical thinking skills that come handy in crisis situations. The role of Debate in developing the skill of critical-thinking is huge as it changes your perception of perceiving and dealing with things. This, in turn, allows you to weigh it fairly. It is because of this link between Debates and critical-thinking that debates are a fair part of any educational curriculum. After all, we want our future generation to be better equipped at handling life than us.