ARGUE A PHILOSOPHER

The judge reads the quality of your reasoning — never which side you took. Six things shape every verdict:

• ▪No winner is crowned. Each side is scored on its own merits. The judge names what kind of exchange it was — common ground, distinct positions, or talking past each other — but never declares who won.
• ▪Common ground counts. Converging on a shared view is one of the best possible outcomes, not a draw or a cop-out. The judge actively looks for the ground you share.
• ▪Plain words beat jargon. “If everyone did that, the whole thing falls apart” scores exactly as high as naming the technical principle behind it. You earn points for reasoning, never for vocabulary.
• ▪Five criteria, 1–5 each. Logical validity, premise quality, philosophical rigor, structural elegance, and engagement. Each side totals 5–25.
• ▪The last word is accounted for. Whoever speaks last can raise points the other had no turn to answer. You're judged only on what was on the table when you spoke — never penalised for the format. (In the Daily Spar, the closing turn is always yours.)
• ▪Your rating moves on your own merit. Elo follows how well you argued against what was expected of you — so both players can climb, or both can slip. It is no longer one up, one down.