@Pinguidchance Philopolemic, are we?
(I had to look up “oppugn”—a cromulent word).
To answer the question: my choice is “all of the above”, if I am being perfectly honest, though I strive to avoid the desire to “win” and keep it to the aim of refining and testing my presumptions and positions by submitting them to dialectic (in some cases, I believe something to be true but realize I don’t know how to argue in favor of it, so I’ll ask questions to hear the arguments for and against). And although I may make many assumptions about why people hold a view opposite of mine, I often find I am wrong (just listen to the many wrongheaded and loud ideas about why people vote the way they do) and a debate is enlightening. At least, that’s the most positive outcome. It doesn’t always work out that way. :)