It seems like we are going philosophical here, so I'm going to spill some random personal philosophy here:
Debate is like flipping a coin with a bunch of people betting on heads or tails.
Well since it's only two choices, one has to win!
Most people don't realise that there are three sides to a coin, heads, tails, and the edge.
The edge is the equilibrium between the two sides, but why no one bets on the edge?
Well, simple, chances of the coin landing on the edge are pretty darn slim!
No one knows what the balancing truth is because we are not given that option during the debate. It is something left to be discovered.
Why go through all the trouble to discover a balance when I have my truth that thousands of people supporting my view?
But having so many people under a single believe surely can't be right. They must be oppressed or are victims of propaganda!
Next thing you know: "Oh look, an argument has broke out"
Back on topic, the following article makes some interesting points:
http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2004/4...nline/fulltext
Bottom-line: human behaviour is interesting
