For the purpose of this debate, humans can have two dispositions when imagining how things could be different. The 'half empty' disposition involves imagining that things could be better. The 'half full' disposition involves imagining that things could be worse. These dispositions do not solely apply to how things could change in the future, but also to potential counterfactuals. E.g., if they were imagining how their phone might be different, a 'half empty' person would imagine that it could be faster or have better battery life. A 'half full' person would imagine that it could break or be a less technologically advanced model.

PsychoPass is a system that monitors citizen’s brain biometrics and calculates the ‘Crime Coefficient’ – a number that is supposed to indicate one’s propensity to commit violent crime. The system can monitor how often an individual thinks about committing a violent crime. The Crime Coefficient can increase and decrease - for example, if someone thinks about committing violent crime frequently one day, their Crime Coefficient will go up, but if they do not do so at all the next day, it will decrease. When someone’s Crime Coefficient crosses an accepted threshold, authorities will be alerted and this individual can be apprehended. In addition, police officers’ weapons are equipped with Crime Coefficient scanners which show any target’s Crime Coefficient in real time. For the purposes of the debate, the PsychoPass can only measure propensity to violent crime (rather than any other crimes, or any unrelated thoughts or emotions), and law enforcement cannot fabricate or alter anyone's Crime Coefficient in any way.

With regard to emotional regulation, Stoicism attempts to teach people to ‘domesticate’ their emotions. It suggests individuals should accept the things they cannot change and avoid letting their emotions control them. Emotionalism, for the purpose of this debate, teaches people to embrace their emotions. It suggests emotions are a natural and healthy part of human life, and that people should not try to suppress them.

Nippon Steel, Japan's largest steel producer agreed to acquire US Steel, the 5th largest steel producer in the US for ~$15B USD, $7B more than it's current market value of $8B.

Original Sin is a doctrine that originated in Christianity which holds that human agency itself stems from an innately immoral nature that can only be redeemed through covenant with God. While most Christian denominations embrace some version of Original Sin, the Eastern Orthodox Church embraces the idea that people are not innately sinful but sin as a result of living in a sinful environment.