This page contains criterion A-Z! These are essential to the Lincoln Douglas case in conjunction to the values. As explained in Basic LD Structure criterion can play a role so important, it can be a very imperative stock issue. So with that I give you criterion that will be applicable for ANY resolution!
Absolutism -The theory and practice by which full and unbridled powers are exercised over the people by government
Act Utilitiarianism- Also known as extreme or direct utilitarianism, contends that on each occasion one should do whatever act will produce the greatest good.
Altruism- The idea that people ought to act for the good of others without any expectation of some good being returned.
Amoral - A lack of moral concern. An action which is neither right or wrong, but just is.
Centrally Planned Economics - Those economies which are set up in such a way as to allow the bureaucrats to make all decisions related to the economy. The state decides who produces what and how much of it they may produce, as well as set the price on the products and services.
Coherence Theory of Truth - The theory which holds that truth is a totality of ideas and experiences, not individual ideas or experiences.
Communitarianism - The term utilitarianism, in short, holds that society should do what makes the greatest amount of happiness for people and avoids the most misery for people.
Comparative Advantage - Usually thought to be primarily a term for cross-examination debate, is in reality an economic theory which holds that countries should only produce what they do best and other countries should not try to duplicate those products.
Conceptualism - The theory which holds that terms have meaning because ideas exist in the mind.
Consequentialism - A philosophical perspective which argues that an act or rule is acceptable or moral because of the outcomes incurred by that act or rule. The means or intentions that originally motivated the act or rule do not matter, which at times makes consequenstialism a repugnant, cold-hearted method of calculating morality.
Conservatism - A defense of the status quo against major changes in political, economic and social institutions of a society.
Consociational Democracy - A form of democracy which offers greater accommodation to group rights and more protection to those who feel vulnerable.
Constitutional Democracy - A form of democracy in which the fundamental workings of the governing body are clearly defined in a constitution.
Constitutionalism -The political principle of liberal government under a written or unwritten constitution. It assumes the people draw up a contract, establishing government and its powers.
Contract Theory-A set of theories which seek to explain the origin of society and government and to establish the authority and obligations that exist for all involved.
John Locke's Social Contract- Provides for individualism, pupular sovereignty and limited democratic government. This empowers people to create government and laws by consent and to dissolve the government or agreement if it is harmful or fails to meet the needs of the people and that individuals also have the power to respond to acts of injustice, violations of individual liberties with violence.
Thomas Hobbes's Social Contract- Advocates an authoritarian contract. When the contract is broken, an imbalance is created and must be repaired or else all of society is set to fail.
Jean Jacques Rousseau's Social Contract -Advocates a government formed by the will of the people, but then declares that people do not know what is best for them.
Cooperation - The act of working with others to achieve a mutually desired outcome. It is often seen as a more viable means of attaining goals and a less violent option than the use of competition to attain goals.
Correspondence of Truth - The theory which holds that some idea is true or correct because it is from some fact.
Cost Benefit Analysis - Also known as "on-balance," functions as a criteria asking us to weigh the worth of some action through the advantages and disadvantages it incurs.
Critical Realism - A theory which holds that a thing may exist without it being perceived or conceived in the mind. Some philosophers argue that the only things that exist are those things the mind perceives.
Cultural Relativism- contends that moral rules for determining what is right and wrong ware only applicable in the society in which they were established.
Deontology-a philosophical perspective based on the concept that acts or rules are acceptable based on their ability to satisfy overriding moral principles.
Determinism- A theory which holds that all actions have causes and effects. The character of the action then is a function of its cause.
Egocentrism - The failure to distinguish between one's own perceptions and those of others; the inability to see the world from any otehr perspective than one's own.
Egoism - The philosophical perspective that operates from the basis that the self is all important. In decision making, egoism creates a standard of evalutation based on the benefits the self gains from the actions in question.
Empiricism - A thoery which argues that all knowledge is gained through experience and that no knowledge is a priori
Epiphenomenalism- A theory which holds that mental activity is the result of bodily changes, but do not change the body.
Epistemological Dualism- A theory which contends the contents of the mind and the objects known are separate in existence although equal in essence.
Epistemological Monism - A theory which contends that the contents of the mind and the objects known are one in existence and essence.
Ethical Egoism - A theory which contends that a person or agent should only act in a way that is morally right or good for him/herself.
Ethical Hedonism- A theory which advances the idea that an act is right in so much as it achieves pleasure and wrong in so much as it produces pain.
Ethical Relativism - A theory which holds that the rightness or wrongness of an act is relative to the attitudes and beliefs of the person judging the act.
Ethical Subjectivism- The idea that our moral opinions are based on our feelings and nothing more.
Eudaemonism- A theory which judges the rightness of an act by the amount it increases a person's happiness.
Existentialism- A philosophy that distinguishes between essence and existence and gives priority to existence.
Federalism- A system of government in which power is divided between a central government and regional governments. All of the goverments involed derive its powers from the people and said goverments have supreme power in their sphere of authority as delinaeated to them in a constitution.
Feminism- A martriarchal movement to reform patriarchal decision-making or policy making processes.
Freedom of the Press- The first amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that the government has no power to abridge freedom of the press in any circumstance.
Free market Economy- The opposite of centrally planned economy, the free market economy allows the market to decide on economic policies.
Hedonistic Utilitarianism- The most common form of utilitarianism which advances that the only actions worthy of pursuit are those that givre pleasure, making pleasure being the greatest good or happiness.
Hobbesian Democracy- Although not thought to be a true form of democracy because the power is not granted to the people, it is a form of democracy in that the people agree to abide by the rulings of the King.
Humanism- A philosophical schol which emphasizes the centrality of the person and rejects the supernatural. While not all humanist reject the notion of God, most hold that the person has control over his or her destiny
Internality of Relations- The principle that everythin is related and the nature of any element effects the nature of all other elements.
Liberalism- Developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a doctrine which emphasized the development of the individual free from the restraints of government. In the twentieth century this view changed to one which looks to the government to step in and correct wrongs and abuses.
Lockean Democracy- A form of democracy in which individual rights are the primary focus of the society. The contracted agreement attempts to provide rights and obligations to all individuals equally, recognizing that there would be times when the rights of individuals would need to be sacrificed to protect and maintain other rights.
Means Vs. Ends - An argument which seeks to determine the morality of a behavior based upon the method used to gain the desired end. Many hold that the ends do not justify the means.
Moral Realism- Piaget's term for the first of two stages in moral development, characterized by a belief in rules as real, indestructible things, not abstract principles.
Moral Relativism- The second stage of Piaget's theory of moral devleopment, in which the individual realizes that rules are agreements created cooperatively by people that may be changed, if necessary.
Naturalistic Ethics- A theory which holds that the rightness and the wrongness of an act is definable empirically and that value judgements and moral assertions are empirically verifiable.
Needs Theory- A theory advanced bysome psychologists to explain the motivations of people to act and behave in a particular mannter.
Negative Utilitarianism- The teleological theory which says individuals should only aim to remove evil, not to produce good.
Personalism- The philosophy that regards the personality as the greatest good and God as the divine personality.
Personal Value Success System- There has been a relatively recent development of the idea of personal fulfillment. People think they need to be satisfied or need to feel successful. This personal success becomes a value in itself that can subsume other values.
Platonic Realism- A theory that contends universals have a reality all their own and exist apart from the things which embody them.
Pluralism- The heterogeneous makeup of organizations and institutions.
Pragmatism- The focusing of issues and ideas on real-world applications. In order to evaluate values, one must not only consider the ideal, but also the relaity of making certain value choices/judgements
Predestination- The doctrine which contends all events are determined by some supreme being, e.g. Allah, God.
Principle of Sufficient Reason- A principle which holds that a series of contingent events must be accounted for by some reason or cause other than that supplied by any one of the contingent events in the series.
Progressive Value System- Progress, and our faith in it, is directly derived from the enlightenment. Since man was naturally good, and through his reason, could discover the secrets of the universe, then to use this knowledge to his advantage would result in progress.
Psychological Egoism- The theory which holds that a person will only respond to others when it is beneficial to him.
Rational Expectations- A theory which holds that people will make rational choices when equipped an adequate amount of information.
Rationalism - The idea that the knowledge of reality is knowable without experience, but can be learned through reason.
Realism- A theory which holds that an object may exist without it being conceived by the mind, and general ideas have a real existence independent of the mind.
Regionalism- The decentralizing of power on a geographical basis. The newly created regions are thought to be more efficient in producing and providing those items unique to its region and in the resolution of problems that face the area.
Rule Utilitarianism- Also known as restricted or indirect utilitarianism, holds that one should do what produces the greatest good if generally followed. It is the antithesis to Act Utilitarianism.
Subjective Idealism- A thoery which holds that the knowledge of the world is limited to an individual's senses; what exists exists only because it is perceived and is what it is perceived as by different individuals.
Subjectivism- The position regarding morality which advocates morality is determined and constrained based on cultural, religious, traditional, and social beliefs of a political state.
Teleology- Theory which holds that the means of achieving some end is not as important as the end result; the ends are more important than the means.
Go Home