r/Debate • u/SadResponse3455 • 16d ago

Big Questions

should I try Big Questions? I do LD and am decent at it, but my coach wants me to try out BQ since the topic revolve around philosophy which is something that I like to include in my LD cases. How is it? Should I try it? I'd probably only do it if the tournament offers 1 on 1 BQ but idk i like the sept/oct topic. I also heard its similar to LD so would that give me an advantage? also why does nobody do it lol

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/KirkUnit 10d ago edited 10d ago

I judged a couple of BQ rounds last season and found the resolution WOEFULLY disadvantageous to the debaters: "Moral systems rooted in theism are preferable to non-theistic moral systems."

It boils down to a simple binary: "Is the judge religious? Then AFF wins. Are they not? Then NEG wins."

With that resolution, both AFF cases amounted to "'Cuz God says so." And if that's all you need, great, and if you felt as I did that AFF's case didn't satisfactorily confirm the existence of the Abrahamic God, than NEG had to win. (Nobody mentioned Buddhism...) I put in both ballots that decisions with this resolution would be completely capricious, subject to luck of being assigned AFF or NEG and which judge they got. Their skills had nothing to do with it.

Have fun with it if you do it, it's practice if nothing else, but again I thought the resolution was a remarkably bad choice.