Disagreement

Undergraduate

We disagree a lot: over values in politics, religion, and morality, regarding points of academic interest in science and history, and – most frequently and most puzzlingly – in matters of taste. These disagreements range from the frivolously trivial to the vitally important. This course aims to give students the resources to think deeply about what disagreement are, and about how we can engage in them responsibly. After two introductory weeks, the course is split into two distinct parts. The central question of the first is how we should react to apparently irresolvable differences of opinion; the central question of the second is how we can tell whether disagreements are substantive or verbal. Both questions lead quickly to some of the deepest problems in two major areas of philosophy – epistemology and the philosophy of language. Through thinking about disagreement, the course can serve as an introduction to contemporary thinking about knowledge and meaning. HU TTh 9am-10:15am