Some Men Say Why

Some men see things as they are and say "why?"

I dream things that never were and say "Why not?"

Similar to Bobby Kennedy, I do not believe "why" is a constructive way of looking at the world.

Discuss.

First of all, I'd like to thank my opponent, HoosierPapi, for this opportunity. This is my first debate on the site so we'll see how things go!

Before I begin my real arguments, I'd like to present some contextual analysis of the word "why", especially in the terms of my opponent. He seems to look at "why" as a depressing, lackadaisical statement that is uttered when one is looking for reasons to do something. "Jimmy, clean up your room!" "*sigh* But why?!" Because he looks at the word with such a limited perspective, he fails to understand the true impact of such an inspirational and important question.

On face value, the "why" of something is the explanation of it. Why is the sky blue? Because the air molecules refract certain spectrums of light, especially blue light. Why is the moon so beautiful? Because we have imagination and wonder, and when we look at such shining pinnacles of light and perfection we cannot help but feel emotion. Why am I crying when I've never been so happy in my life? Why are Polar Bears dying out? Why aren't we doing enough to help the victims of genocide in Darfur?

Inherently, when we ask why we are looking for an explanation, we want to go deeper, we want to pursue curiosity. By asking why we accept that we do not know everything, but we also accept that we can make ourselves better. We are open to the explanation, we are eager to learn. Imagine a math classroom; the professor is lecturing on a chalkboard about the Pythagorean Theorem. The students can react in two ways: they can take notes, stay silent, and memorize the theorem, or they can raise their hand and ask why it works that way. In the first scenario, the students might know the Pythagorean Theorem, but they don't understand it. In the second, not only do they know they theorem, they can also apply it.

Even in the context of my opponent's limited view of "why", it is an important question. For instance:

Why do I have to go to work today? You know what? I don't know! I don't know why I have to go to work, why I have to subject myself to the misery of the daily grind! My job isn't even right for me, it's keeping me from pursuing my dreams, from doing what I'm good at, from doing what I love.

Why is a beautiful question, and I shudder to imagine a world without its curiosity, its urgency, and its grace. Hoosier has taken a very narrow view of the true scope and magnificence of the question. I hope that he reconsiders his opinion, and I hope that you, the good frequenters of debate.org, choose to vote Con.

Thank you very much for your time!

~Aietius

It's a shame my opponent forfeited his first round: this is an interesting topic and I'd like to see where it goes.