On the afternoon of December 5th, the South and North Debate Competition was held in the moot court of Liyan Building. The debaters from School of Physics and Electronic Science and School of Life Science staked out their positions on the topic whether the banality of evil should be punished. Eventually, the debaters from School of Physics and Electronic Science won the championship, of whom Tang Yishang, the second debater of the pro side, was honored as the best debater.
Liu Yuan, the first debater of the pro side, started the debate by elaborating the banality of evil. Li Yongxin, the first debater of the con side, illustrated the opinion that bringing the banality of evil into justice will put the trial in a dilemma. Chen Fang, the second debater of the con side, firstly summarized the rebuttal, arguing that taking the social background into consideration is essential for judging whether a person is guilty. Tang Yishang gave his rebuttal by stating that human beings have subjective conscience and it is trial that is able to warn the public and uproot the occurrence of evil. Nevertheless, Tan Yuze, the fourth debater of the pro side, pointed out it’s partial to decide whether one is guilty according to law only because there is conscience above the law.
Around the conflict between law and moral, eight debaters performed a fierce debate competition by giving quotes and illustrations from diverse fields. “The debate topic is really thought-provoking. And our debaters’ mastery in debate is fully reflected in this competition.” said Wang Ruyi, a student majoring in history. Wang also added, “Participating in an excellent debate competition in suits like this is every debater’s goal.”
(Translated by Liao Zhiqiang)