BeIR/webis-touche2020 huggingface dataset:
The Book of Leviticus Contains Many Silly Ideas

The proposition on offer is that the Book of Leviticus contains many silly ideas about things like proper animal sacrifice, diet, social norms, and even God's consideration of the smell of burning flesh. ************************** Some brief examples: - The first nine chapters of Leviticus are devoted to detailing how to sacrifice animals and contain the phrase "a sweet savour unto the Lord" many times to describe the smells and emanations of the sacrifice. - Leviticus 11 contains dietary requirements that are completely spurious in modern society. - Leviticus 20 contains some rather silly notions about sex, including considering homosexuals to have forfeited their lives and that one should face social ostricization for having sex with a menstruating woman. - Other silly notions include the ideas that one should both own slaves and refrain from oppressing one's fellow man, as well as the notion that one should not fear God, even though Leviticus 26 outlines some scary things that God will do it you do not follow his rules. ******************* Again, just a sample, but the Book of Leviticus contains many, many silly ideas that have little or no value in modern society. AFFIRMED.
Choose one of them Kleptin!

I'm glad to see that Kleptin has accepted this debate challenge, I hope it goes well. Since I am arguing free will does not exist, I will first attempt to define it (no small feat) and then show why it doesn't exist. Once I give the basic framework for why free will doesn't exist, it's my opponent's burden to either discredit this framework (libertarianism) or demonstrate how free will could still function under such a framework (compatibilism). ==================== Definition of free will ==================== I'll admit, defining free will is not an easy task without controversy. It's somewhat hard to phrase the definition without some presuppositions, throwing any attempts at defining it into disarray. However, most people would fine that even if we don't get a perfectly clear, uncontroversial definition, a somewhat intuitive notion of free will remains - allowing for meaningful discussion. I'll give a definition from the American Heritage Dictionary[1], and I find it adequate for our purposes. If my opponent wishes to offer another definition, or challenge parts of my definition, then he is free to do so. Free will is defined to be "the power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will." This particular definition doesn't include one important phrase (though it doesn't exclude it either - I just want to bring attention to it). It should be noted that for free will to exist, the power of making free choices aren't constrained by external physical forces as well - namely the laws of physics. ==================== Argument against the existence of free will ==================== I will have one main argument, and it'll be quite simple: P1. We have no control over the events of the past that determined our present state and no control over the laws of nature. P2. Since we can have no control over these matters, we also can have no control over the consequences of them. C. Since our present choices and acts are the necessary consequences of the past and the laws of nature, then we have no control over them and, hence, no free will. This is a more popular argument against free will, except it hinges on the validity of determinism. I removed this because from a scientific point of view determinism is not the truth - indeterminism is a consequence due to stochastic theories, namely quantum mechanics. However, even if indeterminism is true I argue there is nothing special about this; randomness will not grant us free will. This is all I have for now. I await my opponent's argument. ---References--- 1. http://www.thefreedictionary.com...
Choose one of them Kleptin!

If my memory serves me correct, I've only debated Kleptin once before. For some strange reason, after reading several of his debates on evolution I felt an urge to challenge him to a debate. Who knows, maybe it's just a habit of mine to want to debate people, or perhaps it's a divine altruistic behavior I'm exhibiting to give him a break from the intellectual...challenge... of debating creationists over and over :P. I will present three debate topics and allow my opponent to have the opportunity to choose one of them to debate. The procedure is simple: in this round I list the 3 topics and my position on them, then in my opponent's first round he chooses the topic he wants to debate. From rounds 2-4 we have ourselves a classic three round debate! So here are the topics: ===================================================== PRO - Free will does not exist. PRO - Modern foundationalism is a valid theory of justification. PRO - Equity feminism should replace gender feminism amongst the feminism movement. ===================================================== A little clarification on each topic: *I realize free will is hard to define, but I imagine it to be a way rational agents control exercise over their actions. *Modern foundationalism is the theory of justification (in epistemology theory of justification is about how we can justify our beliefs and propositions) that relies on self-evident "basic beliefs". *Equity feminism argues that women should have full legal and civil rights equal to men, but that attempts to abolish gender roles and such is ovverreaching and uncalled for. I'm PRO on all topics to coincide with the position I actually am for this debate - this is to make everything as clear and free of misunderstandings as possible. I hope we have a great debate.
Islam- The origin of peace

Age can be a factor- Why else do they have age ratings that stop children watching thing that are too old for themain. I reckon I am pretty mature but some things in an 18 movie wouldn't exactly go well for me. Why else can children not work before 13 but even then can only do certain jobs. No one can play God properly without paying the price. If as you say the human mind was designed to disobey, how on earth are we following the law! If we were meant to disobey, we would be living in carnage and no one would be safe.
Islam- The origin of peace

As someone who does not follow Man's rules, I can reasonably say that I'm not a serial killer / rapist that has broken down the human mind and the Universe to such an absurd degree, that I can write these profound words for you to understand sex on a cosmic level: "The male genitalia is the star which explodes; the female genitalia is the black hole which creates." The Universe is having sex in its own way. Now, if you ask me what age is right for sex, well, I don't think age matters - maturity matters. Keep in mind that the female body is ready before the age of 18, and it differentiates between each female. That's not to say a man can go deflower a 10 year old; it's just to say that the Universe is far more free than the rules we place upon our people, which consequentially allow teenagers to fool around with little to no knowledge because the human mind is designed to disobey in the first place. I have nothing against Islam - I have everything against god-playing fools. Pride, I am against. Prejudice, which is caused by pride, I am against. I don't discriminate - hating a country because of the animals of pride and hatred that leave their fellow men to suffer, is counter-intuitive.
Islam- The origin of peace

Because it's the same thing with the Christians. There will always be people that say "this is the religion of truth / peace / love", while lying through their teeth, or not realizing that they were deceived. While the wisest of mankind have not once told anyone that they had the truth / the peace / the love. They spoke words and allowed people to take it or leave it, because wisdom is like water - it can take any shape or form; it is everywhere. Religions take us away from humanity, because it comes with rules - rules that are made in an ever-changing world that has its own rules and consequences. Man is too busy playing god to realize how much damage and destruction they cause to everyone with their ego and their inability to accept self-humility; to understand humanity; to realize that this entire Universe is telling its story through us.
Islam- The origin of peace

First and foremost, I have already accepted. I will not be succumbing to redundant rules by wasting a panel to say "I accept", after hitting a button to represent thereof already. Argument: You cannot spell "peace", without "ace". This is to say that peace would require perfection from humanity to truly acquire - all things that seem at peace, are truly raging beneath the surface; the calm before the storm, per say. The Islamic world is truly a genocidal world in itself; a world of animals and venom constantly reapplying itself to the innocence of the children, fathers and mothers that have no way to escape this hell created by pride and prejudice that have long forgotten the ways of humanity, the ways of relativity, through rules created by savage rulers that only want power and control because they are the weakest of men in all actuality. If you want power, you have not any; if you do not seek power, you have it all. These men are playing god, as animals, without the traits of humanity, which means that psychopaths have taken over this land to allocate their inner chaos unto, as power and destruction are the symbols of a man that's heart lost its way.
Islam- The origin of peace

Let me sum it up for you: There is not a single place on this planet that has not been tarnished by the arrogance of our men. Do you want to know why the arrogance of man is taking over this world? It's because man is taking women for granted - destroying both, the human female and the nature of female by killing trees, plants and flora for more man-like traits (e.g business). If this world ever wants to find balance again, the males will have to understand the cosmic relationship between the Animus and the Anima. The stars explode as they ought; the black holes create as they ought. The volcano spreads inner-seed to the surface, as the male's genitalia spreads inner-seed to the surface - what is released is then taken in by the soil or the female's genitalia, to create life. As long as males continue to suppress human female and the nature of female, this world will always remain violent and destructive because Males are Analytic - Females are Eccentric. As long as the emotion of nature does not control the machine of nature, we will all be crushed by the emotionless heart of reaction and emotionless creed.
Mental Health is an issue within our education system

Likewise, I have enjoyed our discussion as well. I believe there have been some very good points called to my attention. I appreciate the clarification of the word "creating", without the proper defining of words it is easy for debates to become confusing and misunderstood. To answer your questions, I am willing to consider that schools have an impact on the mental health if a very clean study was done that eliminated as many variables as possible and recorded the amount of stress hormones released. If there was another round then I'd ask for a further explanation on what one means about the group project example. When you refer to home life in this example, does one mean that the home life was negatively impacting the student. If so then one couldn't necessarily say the student, that worked on it, would receive an "A". I believe that our argument now lies upon what we were originally arguing. I apologize for not starting off the argument by stating what exactly I meant, whether the American education system was the only thing negatively impacting students or if it simply played a part. For future arguments, I will keep this in mind, to first define the argument. Thank you for taking the time to debate this with me. I have learned a great deal from this debate and will use it to better my skills.
Mental Health is an issue within our education system

For the rest of this argument when referring to American education that will include kindergarten through college. Looking back at the original claim, one states that "American education system is negatively impacting the mental health" and then one states, "3 primary premises, the amount of homework given, the lack of support/education pertaining to mental illnesses and, the pressures of standardized tests." Throughout the arguments, it is repeated that the homework and tests, that schools provide, create stress for students and is one saying that this stress is a factor, among others, that develops the anxiety and depression? If so, then one could see the argument that schools are negatively impacting the mental health of students because the schools are the cause of the anxiety and depression. However, one just recently stated, "No, I am not arguing that the American education system creates these mental illnesses." I believe I am lost on how schools are negatively impacting students mental health. Would one say that schools play no part in creating these mental illnesses and what does "creating" mean to you? One mentions that tests and homework are not the exact cause, so would that be saying that homework and tests might not be the only cause, however they are part of the reason students suffer from mental illnesses? I would greatly appreciate your research and an elaborate on the link. I agree that not all students have the right resources or coping mechanisms, however the majority of schools provide counselors and should all of the responsibility of teaching children coping mechanisms fall onto the schools? Or should parents assist with educating children about mental illnesses? Schools do not negatively impact a students mental health. If schools are not the exact cause of depression and anxiety, and it's mostly the home life. Then it is not the American education system at fault, but the home life of students. Therefore, would the American education system be responsible for providing coping methods and if it isn't only the tests and homework that is causing these issues, then the school is not pushing these students to have these mental illnesses.
Mental Health is an issue within our education system

Thanks for the clarification. What term should I use to define education from kindergarten all the way through college? Once again I'd like to reiterate that there is a snowball effect. Mental health issues within our schools at elementary level is not as prominent but it begins the perpetration of the high levels of stress placed on students . Then throughout the years more towards high school and college it is more evident. Yes, the strength of the disability services versus mental health services was going to be my next argument. I totally agree with you on the statement that the complexity of mental illnesses and the difficulty to diagnose. This is in part why I believe our education system is failing to help students be aware and give them the resources to help them better cope with the stresses of school that may be causing anxiety and/or depression. No, I am not arguing that the American education system creates these mental illnesses. In that sense, I would be on the opposing side. I am stating that the American education system (for clarification purposes, I mean the United States) negatively impacts the mental health of students. I phrased it in this particular way because I know that there are many other contributing factors to one's mental health not just education. With this in mind, I would not say that depression and anxiety come from just tests and homework. Another huge factor is a students home life. However, discussing that impact would be driving the argument off topic. I would also like to clarify once again that I do not believe that tests and homework are the exact cause of depression and anxiety. Instead I argue that they are causing a huge amount of stress on students. Which in turn, when students don't have the right resources or coping mechanisms (why I stated that the lack of resources and help with mental health is part of the issue), they tend to develop symptoms and traits of depression and anxiety. If you would like I can include my research and elaborate on the link between stress and depression and anxiety.
Mental Health is an issue within our education system

To begin, I will start by clarifying my definitions of American education system, mental health, and mental illnesses. American education system means to me K-12 public school only (not college or private schools), I agree with the definition that mental health is the well being of both the psychological and emotions of a person. I am glad you were able to specify mental illnesses because there are personality and trauma disorders and as you mentioned depression and anxiety. So for the sake of this argument when referring to mental illnesses it would be strictly for depression and anxiety. Also I apologize for not including my source, http://www.educationworld.com.... The point you make about schools having great (by great do you mean sufficient to deal with issue?) disability services and accommodations is very true. However this may be because of the complexity of mental illnesses and how difficult they are to diagnose and how little people still know about them. One states that the lack of resources and proper education is perpetrating the problem, by this do you mean that the resources and education are obtainable or not? Kirsten Weir would state that there is a lack of resources because they are not yet obtainable. (obtainable meaning accessible)http://www.apa.org... One must ask you to clarify if you argue that the American education system creates these mental illnesses? Is the depression and anxiety solely from the tests and homework? I am enjoying debating this with you and look forward to your response.
Mental Health is an issue within our education system

By American education system, I am talking about K-12 grade and college. The education has a bit of a snowball effect. In elementary school, students must take standardized test so that the government can evaluate the schools and provide funding based off of that. Teachers then teach students how to take tests and teach to prepare for the test, and less to teach for the sake of learning. Same goes for high school; however, now students are placed under even more stress to succeed on these tests in order to prepare and get into college. By the time, students arrive at college, they have already arrived with mental health issues that arose throughout their elementary through high school years. An article in Newsweek by Katie Baker, explores how colleges are failing to support students who do struggle with mental illnesses. This article points out the fact that colleges have great disability services and accommodations for learning and physical disabilities but mental health disabilities are a whole different story. (http://www.newsweek.com...) Mental illnesses is such a wide spectrum, however, for brevity, I'd like to narrow it down to depression and anxiety. These two are the most common mental illnesses that seem to develop due to the amount of stress placed on students. Mental health to me is simply the well being of both the psychological and emotions of a person. When you say that there are homework clubs and other opportunities for homework help, how does that address and provide a solution for the amount of homework given? Groups such as the National Education Association and the National Parent Teacher Association suggest ten minutes of homework per day for each grade level is generally a good rule of thumb for elementary and middle school students. However, many students report to having 80 minutes of homework in elementary school and upward to 100 minutes of homework in middle school, exceeding the recommended amount. (http://www.k12.com...) I believe the lack of resources and proper education about mental health is further perpetrating the problem that there is a rise in mental health issues. To be more exact , according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, suicide is the second leading cause of death of 15-24 year olds and the third leading cause of death of people aged 10-24 in the United States. There are gym and health classes that help keep kids bodies in shape and healthy, but not classes to teach kids how to manage stress and encourage healthy and safe coping mechanisms. Without these skills and techniques kids are left feeling hopeless, helpless and stressed out. These are some of main symptoms of depression and anxiety. Would you please share your source from where you talk about adding multiple homework club and what considered other opportunities? What are your definitions of the American education system, mental health and mental illnesses? That way we can be on the same page?
Mental Health is an issue within our education system

When you refer to the "American education system", are you talking about the K-12 public education system or other? Also can you clarify on what you mean by mental illnesses and mental health? Assuming, when you state "the amount of homework given", you mean that the amount is to large for students to handle. Even if this were the case, I'd like to argue that over the past ten years schools have in fact added multiple homework clubs, and other opportunities for students to attend and be assisted with their school work. What would you like to see schools implement to assist with the mental health of students?
Mental Health is an issue within our education system

In my opinion, the American education system is negatively impacting the mental health of students within the past decade. I make this claim based on 3 primary premises, the amount of homework given, the lack of support/education pertaining to mental illnesses and, the pressures of standardized tests. These main components of the American education system is causing too much stress on the students and without the proper resources and tools to help the students cope, it is causing a rise in mental health issues.
Resolved: The United States ought to submit to the jurisdiction of an international court...

One of the fundamental errors in the argument for an International Court is that it is accepted by some advocates in the abstract, without concern over the reality of the implementation. It is much easier to support the idea of a theoretically perfect and impartial dispenser of justice than it is to point to an embodiment that has actually worked. It seems that other supporters, perhaps the majority, never get beyond an anti-American framework of subordinating American interests to the interests of others. At root, they are recognizing that Court would not be impartial, it would just be able to force the interests other nations to prevail. Other arguments are continued.
The Big Bang

In the beginning God said there would be light, and so it was. Along with this, in a scientific terms all scientists did, was put this into the prospective as their terms. In a flash of light, the world was created out of nothing, the same way that both Scientology and the Christian religion prospects. This debate is not to say that there happens to be god, no, not at all. I believe in god, but maybe scientists just put their terms into the description. Do you believe that scientists did not put the Christianity context in their theories?