What would be a good essay question on epistemology of disagreement?

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Hi there,

I am a third year philosophy student and I’m going to write a 5000 word essay on the topic of epistemology of disagreement and I was wondering if you could suggest a good question to answer. I have some general ideas but I can’t decide on a particular question that would be fit for that length of a paper. I need to focus my research at this stage of the project but I don’t know how. Can you please help?

Some more details:

My primary interest lies in the normative significance of peer disagreement but I also have some general comments about the current debate in the epistemology of disagreement as such (I think philosophers could benefit from taking a step back and engaging in a meta-analysis of the debate).

My main thought at the moment is that attaining a plausible theory telling us how we should react in the face of peer disagreement is unlikely for the following reasons:

• The notion of epistemic peerhood is problematic (we might have good reasons to believe that there are no true epistemic peers; at the very least the most common definition of an epistemic peer functioning in the literature at the moment is inadequate).
• Philosophers systematically underestimate the role ‘external’ factors such as philosophers’ personality, biography, metaphilosophical commitments, etc. play in deciding favored reactions to disagreement.
• In some cases there might be more than one possible rational reaction to disagreement.
• There is too much diversity in the world of disagreement- there are different cases and types of disagreement, different areas in which we encounter disagreement (surely disagreement about religious matters will have to be handled differently than disagreement about applied physics) and each of them will require different account. Hence it seems that we can’t have a single prescription for rational reaction that will give plausible results in all different cases of disagreement (or if we can, it would have to be so complex and elaborate that it would be unintelligible).

It would be good if the essay question touched upon these issues but I will welcome any suggestions. Many thanks for reading and I’d really appreciate any help you can provide.

All the best,
IBC

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@IBC,

If people can't agree on everything, what's the real incentive to agree on anything?

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@IBC,

Not a question per se, but an essay title that suggests questions:

"Contemporary media, the liberation of personal opinion, the limits of cultural norms, and the state of debate: A statement punctuated by a question mark is a question?"

The above is not necessarily helpful, but i wish you well. Your topic sounds interesting, and i would be interested in an expanded presentation of your views on it.

Also, while i agree that the "reasons and reactions" you listed limit (if not, disable) peerage (ie agreed upon warrants) in debate, i continue to be interested in the modern remnants of coherent conversation and its adherents.

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@Razzleg,

Don't be boring about coherence Razzy...don't organize the disorganized !
I like rough geometry n not Plato's forms... Wink

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@Razzleg,

Thanks for your suggestion. I might post my conclusions about disagreement when I'm done with the essay, so watch this space Smile

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@IBC,

IBC wrote:

Thanks for your suggestion. I might post my conclusions about disagreement when I'm done with the essay, so watch this space

Please do. At this point, i'm quite removed from academia, but i'm sure i'd still be interested in an academic evaluation of "disagreement" as an epistemic complication.

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@Fil Albuquerque,

Fil Albuquerque wrote:

Don't be boring about coherence Razzy...don't organize the disorganized !
I like rough geometry n not Plato's forms...

You're one of my favorite interlocutors in this forum, Fil, and i'd never try to change you. Nor would i ever accuse you of being coherent...haha.

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@Razzleg,

Yeah I abhor tedium and I love to entertain...at least I favour my own stories no need for quotes in my nonsense, its all genuine ! Wink

(coherence is one of the things I am most certain about myself go figure the degree of delusion I live in)

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@IBC,

In your third reason you suggest that there will be disagreement about disagreement, and that this makes unlikely an account that tells us how to react to peer disagreement, but that doesn't seem to be entailed, for example, it might be that we can agree that disagreement is warranted. Also, why do you want an account that tells us how to react, rather than an account of how disagreement is possible?
I assume you've read Aumann's article?

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What would be a good essay question on epistemology of disagreement?

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