Disagreement: From Theory to Practice and Back
University of Idaho Seed Grant
Overview
abstract
Intellectual disagreements are common. Philosophers approach the subject of disagreement with a helpful idealization that disagreeing agents are peers, i.e., that they share evidence, reasoning capacities, etc. It is an open question whether conclusions from idealized cases generalize to real-world cases of disagreement. For example, in an idealized case it may be reasonable for agents to hold steadfast to their views, but the complexities of a real-world case (that is otherwise similar to the idealized case) make it unlikely that agents are peers in the semi-technical sense just described, and consequently the real-world case may suggest that some compromise should be sought. This proposal will use semi-structured workshops to assess how well theories of disagreement apply to concrete issues. In addition, the workshops will create and strengthen existing relationships with Idaho communities, such as the Spokane River Forum, the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute, and Emsi.
