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1.
THEUNiVERSEOFDEBATE.FOREWORD
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wasdevelopedbyAristotle(Gondek,Kiereś-Łachinthisvolume).Inscholasticism,on
theotherhand,ittooktheformofuniversitydisputes,wherebyitsdidacticpotentialwas
perfected.Medievaluniversitiesusedthemethodofdisputationasameansofarriving
ataresolutionofkeytheologicalandphilosophicalquestions.Techaptersonscholas-
ticdisputes(Ryszka-Kurczabinthisvolume)andreligiousdebatesinthePolish-Lithu-
anianCommonwealth(16th-17thcenturies)(Ryszka-Kurczabinthisvolume)illustrate
theorderandritualsofacademicdispute.Bothreligiousdisputesandintellectualdisputes
hadstrictformsofconduct.Accordingtopopularbelief,itwasatooltodeterminewhat
wastrueandwhatwasfalseinthecaseofdivergentopinions.Knowledgeoftheuniver-
sityrootsofintellectualdebate,organisedforcognitivepurposes,providesanexcellent
backgroundforjustifyingthepromotionofsimilarformsincontemporaryschoolsand
universities(GondekandKiereś-Łachinthisvolume).
3.DimensionsoftheDebate
Tehistoricaldevelopmentofdebateinitslonggenreevolutionindiferentdemocratic
culturesisatopicthatstillawaitsresearchers-enthusiasts.Foritrequiresin-depthhistor-
icalstudiesofthedevelopmentofsocialandpoliticalinstitutionsandthedevelopment
ofrhetoricaleducationinthecountrieswheredebatehasbeennurtured.Instead,wecan
observethelifeofthegenrehereandnowintheperspectiveofcontemporarycommuni-
cationtrendstodeterminehowthegenreisevolving.
Wecanconsiderthecontemporarydevelopmentofthedebateinthreedimensions:
yeducationalandcompetitive
yinstitutional
ysocial.
Teintroductionofthisdivisionmakesitpossibletoencompasswithacriticalper-
ceptionthedevelopmentofthegenreduringtheperiodofitssocialassimilation(perfec-
tioninit),duringtheperiodofitsapplicationindemocraticinstitutions,and,finally,the
practiceinpublicdiscourseofbehaviouralpatternsofconfrontationofopposingideas
andproposalsforsolutions.
3.1.TheEducationalandCompetitiveDimension
Debatesfromthefirstlevelarearemarkablydiversephenomenonandshowthecapac-
ityformultipletransformations.Animportantelementofthisdimension,whichdis-
tinguishesitfromtheothers,isdebatingathesisinventedtoplayoutanargument.It
isallthesamewhetherweconsideradebateintheclassroomoratatournament-in
bothcases,theaimistoplayouttheargumentitself,andtheresolutionintheformof
anadmissionthatoneofthepartiesisrighthasnoconsequencesintherealworld,i.e.
outsidethevenue.Tus,thesearedebateswhosemeaningistoexcelinthetechnique
ofargumentationandunderstandingofdivergentpositions,todeepenone)sknowledge
oftheproblemsunderconsiderationortowindisputes,and,finally,totrainpublicspeak-
ing.InPoland,thenameOxforddebateshasbeenadoptedasatermreferringtovarious
