Enlightenment Debate: Locke vs. Hobbes
You and your classmates are on the verge of establishing your own country: ______. To effectively rule over this country, you must decide what your government will look like. During The Enlightenment period both John Locke and Thomas Hobbes presented their own unique ideas as to how a country should establish its government. In getting ______up and running, you and your classmates will need to debate the philosophies of Locke and Hobbes.
ULTIMATE QUESTION:Which philosopher’s ideas on government will be the best fit for your country?
Each class member will be assigned to a team: Locke, Hobbes, or neutral. Your team will work as a unit, however each person will have an assigned role. All team members should be able to speak during the debate, there will not be one speaker.
Locke and Hobbes Team Jobs
Team Manager / · The team manager will be in charge of making sure that the team is working as a unit and not as individuals.· The team manager must manage class time for his or her team. If work needs to be completed outside of class, the team manager must fairly allocate assignments.
· The team captain is responsible organizing his or her teammate on debate day and making sure that all team members are capable of asking/answering questions.
Lead Researcher / · The lead researcher is responsible for obtaining background information for his or her team.
· The lead researcher is in charge of organizing the research that other team members find and distributing it to his or her teammates.
· The lead researcher should be able to complete research using databases as opposed to general Internet searches.
Primary Document Analysts / · The primary document analysts are responsible for locating, reading, and interpreting primary sources written by, or about, Locke or Hobbes.
· The primary document analysts must extract quotes from the primary documents that will bolster their team’s argument as well as refute the opposing team.
Damage Control Specialists / · The damage control specialists are responsible for anticipating the enemy’s attack.
· The damage control specialists need to research and predict the other’s side’s arguments in order for their team to debunk them and not be caught off guard.
Team Scribe / · The team scribe is to help his or her teammates create an electronic note file (Microsoft Word document, Google Doc, etc.) that the entire team can access to investigate research findings.
· The team scribe is in charge of creating a bibliography of resources for his or her team.
Neutral Team Jobs
Those class members selected to be on the neutral team will ultimately make an unbiased decision as to what form of government will work best for your class’ country. Neutral team members must be able to explain their reasoning to the entire class. Neutral team members are therefore to work on their own to educate themselves in an unbiased fashion about BOTH Locke and Hobbs.
Enlightenment Debate: Format and Expectations
- On the day of the debate, each member of Locke and Hobbes teams should come prepared to make a statement that supports their group’s form of government.
- No two team members should present the same evidence.
- All statements should include supporting examples. This is where quotes from your primary documents and statistics will come in handy.
- These statements are to support your team’s perspective, NOT to debunk the opposition. If you are a debater, you may consider this the “affirmative” portion of the debate.
- Each team member should have a written statement prepared to turn in. You may use the written statement as you speak, but do not forget that presentation style is graded.
- After each team expresses their perspective, the Hobbes and Locke team will be given a change to cross-examine each other.
- Each team should come prepared with at least 3 questions to ask the opposing team.
- You will not know in advance what questions your team will be asked, be sure your “Damage Control Specialists” have prepped your team to answer cross-questions.
- Once a team member has answered a cross-question, they may not answer another cross-question.
- The neutral team will act as a jury and decide the debate winner on debate day.
- Neutral team should take notes as they listen to the debate in order to adequately determine which side presented the most convincing argument.
- The neutral team should prepare at least 2 general questions (questions that will apply to both the Locke and Hobbes teams). The neutral team will be able to ask their question to both teams as they try and hand down a verdict.
- Each neutral team member will be given two days after the debate to formalize his or her decision in writing and submit it.
- Teams may either submit their written arguments or cross-examination questions as a single file to turnitin.com or as individuals. Please proofread all of your work before submitting it.
Enlightenment Debate: Rubric
Use of Facts/Statistics
(2) / Every major point was well supported with several relevant facts, statistics and/or examples. / Every major point was adequately supported with relevant facts, statistics and/or examples. / Every major point was supported with facts, statistics and/or examples, but the relevance of some was questionable. / Every point was not supported.
Presentation Style / Team consistently used gestures, eye contact, tone of voice and a level of enthusiasm in a way that kept the attention of the audience. / Team usually used gestures, eye contact, tone of voice and a level of enthusiasm in a way that kept the attention of the audience. / Team sometimes used gestures, eye contact, tone of voice and a level of enthusiasm in a way that kept the attention of the audience. / One or more members of the team had a presentation style that did not keep the attention of the audience.
Organization / All arguments were clearly tied to an idea (premise) and organized in a tight, logical fashion. / Most arguments were clearly tied to an idea (premise) and organized in a tight, logical fashion. / All arguments were clearly tied to an idea (premise) but the organization was sometimes not clear or logical. / Arguments were not clearly tied to an idea (premise).
Understanding of Topic
(2) / The team clearly understood the topic in-depth and presented their information forcefully and convincingly. / The team clearly understood the topic in-depth and presented their information with ease. / The team seemed to understand the main points of the topic and presented those with ease. / The team did not show an adequate understanding of the topic.
Information / All information presented in the debate was clear, accurate and thorough. / Most information presented in the debate was clear, accurate and thorough. / Most information presented in the debate was clear and accurate, but was not usually thorough. / Information had several inaccuracies OR was usually not clear.
Enlightenment Debate: Daily Duties While Researching
By the end of “Research and Prep Day 1”:
· Turn in a list indicating which team member has been assigned each job.
· Submit a written statement indicating (generally) what your team accomplished.
· In your written statement indicate how your team will come to class prepared to continue researching tomorrow.
By the end of “Research and Prep Day 2”:
· The team scribe should submit a copy of the team’s note file to the teacher initialed by all team members and a bibliography (please see your teacher to learn how to use Noodle Tools – this will generate an MLA style bibliography for you)..
· The team manager should notify the teacher as to what work the team is going to complete outside of class and during the next class period.
By the end of “Research and Prep Day 3”:
· The primary document analysts should have a list of quotes to use when responding to cross-examination questions.
· All team members should be prepared to present their arguments, ask cross-examination questions, and answer cross-examination questions.
o The damage control specialists should have prepped their teammates to respond to questions written by the opposition.
o An organized list of notes should be distributed to all team members and the teacher (initialed by team members).
· All statements and questions should be finalized. Corrections may be made outside of class, however you should not change the main point of any statement without conferring with your teammates.
· If necessary, the scribe should submit an updated bibliography. It is not advised that you search for new sources at this point.
DAY 4 IS DEBATE DAY.