The Beginner's Guide to Arguing Constructively

Paul Graham's Post "How to Disagree", as well as many other resources, have progressed by debate style from "destroy the other person and claim victory" to "calmly work to find common truths and update beliefs".

I often try and guide friends to this form of debate, but found that there was no one resource that summarized the mindset, knowledge and techniques needed to get there, so I wrote one.

Alternative title: the antidote to the first 2020 Presidential Debate

> Next up is disputing definitions, also known as an argument about semantics. Debates that reach this point can languish and falter because they immediately become about philosophical semantics, rather than the argument itself.

This is a good point that I find very difficult to follow. Often at work for example, I find myself in a debate over the next 'right' thing to do, but this is hard when there is not universal agreement on what is 'right'.