In a recent TED-Talk (TEDx ColbyCollege, Feb. 2013, Daniel H. Cohen: For argument’s sake, see embedded video below) the philosopher Daniel H. Cohen asks an interesting question: How do we approach arguments?
I’m not talking here about arguments about ordinary tasks, like who is taking out the trash or other mundane things, but about intellectual, academic and stimulating arguments. That is, arguments that require thinking, domain knowledge and intellectual wits. Although he probably thought of it as mostly applying to philosophical arguments and debates (he is a philosopher after all), I believe the ramifications of his observations are much broader than just the domain of philosophy.