Debate Vs. A Dialogic Argument

Many people think that argument and debate go hand in hand, you can not have one without the other. This is not true, there is in fact a huge difference between a debate and a dialogic argument. Writing Arguments states at the beginning of chapter one that an argument is “reasonable people seeking the best solution to a problem.” There is a desire to seek and find the truth in an argument. Debate however takes a reasonable argument and flips it into a game. A game where different parties try desperately to “win” by proving that the other party is completely wrong. The interview with Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly was full of negative comments made to ensure that each party felt like they won, while trying to prove the other completely wrong. The environment was not focused on truth seeking, or finding a solution. These two reasons are why this interview was a debate, and not an argument.
Jon mocks Bill’s stance on the ebola scare, and offers him hand sanitizer. He then goes on to make fun of Bill’s book By saying the book was a waste. Then admitting he never read it. These actions were very rude, however then did succeed in giving the impression that Jon is ahead of Bill in the race to “win”. Later in the interview Jon makes it clear that he only wants to be proven right, not develop a better understanding. Jon tells Bill “I just want you to say I’m terribly, Terribly wrong on this. Can’t it be possible that some of Bill’s statements are based on truth, isn’t that worth