agora-debate

Agora Dialectic Workflow

Purpose

Use dialectical debate when contradiction is productive. This workflow is best for ideation, reframing, and strategic synthesis. It is not the default path for every request.

Best for

Use this workflow when:

• the problem is open-ended and multiple strong frames exist
• two or more credible positions need structured confrontation
• the team needs a higher-order synthesis rather than a quick choice
• novelty and reframing are valuable

Do not use when

Prefer other workflows when:

• the request is mainly vague -> use clarify-goals first
• the request is a straightforward fork -> use frame-the-decision + compare-options
• the request is verification or risk review -> use skeptic mode + doubt-list
• the request is governance or approval -> use court mode + court-review
• the task is simple execution and no philosophical tension is needed

Agent dispatch

Suggested routing:

• unclear problem -> Socrates for clarification first
• dialectical synthesis -> Hegel
• semantic/interface tension -> Wittgenstein
• system/invariant tension -> Spinoza
• normative or aesthetic review -> Kant
• genealogy or category rupture -> Nietzsche
• verification gate -> Descartes

Workflow protocol

Phase 1 — Clarify the actual tension

Before debate, state the question as a real contradiction. A fake contradiction produces theatrical output.

Phase 2 — Diverge

• surface thesis and antithesis clearly
• block premature agreement
• require steel-manning before critique

Phase 3 — Challenge

• test hidden assumptions in each side
• ask what would have to be true for the opposite side to win
• preserve the strongest concern from each position

Phase 4 — Synthesize or stop

• produce synthesis only if it preserves strengths from both sides
• if no true synthesis exists, hand off to compare-options or escalate to the user

Output artifact

A dialectic run should end in one of these:

• synthesis memo
• decision memo
• minority report
• explicit deadlock report

Anti-patterns

• using dialectic for every problem by habit
• treating disagreement as theater instead of a path to better judgment
• forcing novelty when a conventional solution is sufficient
• skipping Descartes when outputs require verification

Routing reminder

Agora v2.3 is skill-first. Dialectic is one mode among several. Choose it intentionally.