Bo Seo is a two-time world champion debater and a former coach of the Australian national debating team and the Harvard College Debating Union. One of the most recognized figures in the global debate community, he has won both the World Schools Debating Championship and the World Universities Debating Championship. Bo has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, and many other publications. He has worked as a national reporter for the Australian Financial Review and has been a regular panelist on The Drum. Bo is a graduate of Harvard University and has a master’s degree in public policy from Tsinghua University. He is currently a juris doctor candidate at Harvard Law School.
‘From two-time world champion debater Bo Seo, a thoughtful,
instructive and eloquent meditation on the art of debate and why
its central pillars - fact-finding, reason, persuasion and
listening to opponents - are so valuable in today’s alarming
ecosystem of misinformation and extreme emotion. When Bo Seo’s
family immigrated from South Korea to Australia, he was a shy,
conflict-averse eight year old who worried about being an outsider,
and in “Good Arguments,” he recounts how debate not only helped him
to cross language lines, but also gave him confidence and a voice
of his own’
*former chief book critic for The New York Times*
‘In a world increasingly rent by division within and between
nations, Bo Seo’s lucid and humane search for “better ways to
disagree” could not be more timely or valuable.’
*Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia and author of The
Case for Courage*
'This is not just the electrifying tale of how Bo Seo won two world
debate championships. It’s also a user manual for our polarised
world. I can’t think of a more vital resource for learning to
sharpen your critical thinking, accelerate your rethinking, and
hone your ability to open other people’s minds. Good Arguments is
the rare book that has the potential to make you smarter—and
everyone around you wiser.'
*Adam Grant, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Think Again
and host of the podcast WorkLife*
'Good Arguments is a book so timely and needed in this fraction-ing
world we are living in. It assumes that a quarrel is something you
first have with yourself, get it out of the way and start to
respect and listen to the person across the room from you. Seo has
written a book that forces us to think and then speak as the
philosopher he knows is right on the tip of every tongue. This book
is brilliant and a pleasure to read; in the end, he instructs us
not to win but to convince and unexpectedly, it teaches how to
persuade for words are deployed as weapons of love.'
*Jamaica Kincaid, author of See Now Then, Mr. Potter, and The
Autobiography of My Mother*
'I adore this beautiful story of a young person's journey from fear
of conflict and altercation to embrace of wonderful disagreement
and argument. In this touching memoir, debate is not a mere
activity but a way of life that offers hope of a cure for a
diseased society. Good Arguments is essential reading!'
*Jeannie Suk Gersen, John H. Watson Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard
Law School and author of A Light Inside*
'I had lots of conversations about political and social issues with
Bo Seo when he was a student at Harvard, and I never felt even, for
a second, that he was being disputatious or even argumentative. On
the contrary, they were delightfully agreeable. Now I understand
why: it was because Bo Seo is a debater, in fact, one of the best
debaters in the world. If you want to learn how debating can help
you become a more engaging conversationalist, a more broad-minded
thinker, or even, maybe, just a better human being, you must read
Good Arguments.'
*Louis Menand, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Metaphysical
Club and The Free World*
'Today, more than ever, we see the importance of navigating
disagreements constructively. In his new book, Good Arguments, Bo
Seo offers some tips we can all use in doing so, drawing on his
deep experience as a champion debater.'
*Stephen A. Schwarzman, New York Times-bestselling author of What
It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence*
'Good Arguments is an antidote to spin, fake news, "political
correctness" and plain muddled thinking. Bo Seo teaches us how
to listen and to be heard in both a healthy democracy and
around the kitchen table'
*Gillian Triggs, former President of the Australian Human Rights
Commission*
'This excellent book begins with the challenge faced by a schoolboy
whose family moved from South Korea to Australia. From school
debating to university dialogue and on to witnessing global
political conflict, Bo Seo identifies how debate and argument are
essential to human understanding. Out of good arguments comes
a synthesis. It has been so from the time of Socrates, to the
world of Khrushchev and Mandela, and of Putin and Zelinsky.
He argues that debate is central to human freedom even as our world
faces dramatic challenges for human survival. Distinguishing
‘good arguments’ from unconvincing rubbish, has never been more
central to human survival and to achieving love for one
another.'
*Michael Kirby, AC CMG*
'Good Arguments is an important book that is full of
powerful insights. It should be required reading for all leaders
and anyone who aspires to leadership. Bo Seo is obviously
brilliant but more importantly, his writing reveals a wisdom far
beyond his years. He will surely become an important voice
for our time.'
*Dr Jim Yong Kim, former president of the World Bank*
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