I’ve noticed these threads pop every now and then in GD.
The OP usually goes like this: “I got in a heated discussion on another forum with some creationists/evolutionists/pro-lifers/whatever and I am getting my ass handed to me. I need help to refute their claims”.
Those threads always strike me as a bit odd. Sounds like “I’ll bring my older brother to beat you up”. Do you think it is dishonest to ask for help in a situation like this?
It depends. Has the debate devolved into nothing more than a sport? In other words, each side wants to win not primarily because they believe their argument to be correct and want to convince the other side or others of that, but because they want to “win” or save face. If so, then yes, it is a bit like bringing your older brother.
If the real aim is a more honorable debate, then I think it is fair play, just like offering any external cite would be. In that case you would be less important than the argument itself, so if you are still convinced that you are correct but have doubts about your ability to communicate your argument then I don’t see why you wouldn’t do whatever you could to reinforce your position. If the other side does the same it should make the whole process very enriching, since in theory everyone would be armed with the best of the best arguments.
It seems to me that the purpose of a debate is to get at the truth, and that purpose is well-served by both sides getting help from others. Or at least, that should be the purpose of a debate. If the purpose is otherwise, then the problem came before the debater called for help.
Depends a lot on how the question is phrased for me. If it’s I got my ass handed to me because I didn’t understand the issue as much as I though I did, and I’d like to know more about it, is what I stepped into and got my ass handed to me a legitimate counter-argument that I’ll have to deal with as best as I can or is it an easily refuted BS argument and what is everyone here’s thoughts about the issue? That’s one thing, but then again I can’t ever recall the OP of treads like this starting that way.
It’d be great if most threads of this type started this way, but most of the time it comes across as I’m too lazy to do my own homework, do it for me plz?
In a debate where you are trying to develop debate skills, yes it is cheating a bit.
In a debate where the sides are trying to educate each other, no, it is fine.
I’ve learned bucketloads about how to messageboard debate from watching and learning from others here.