180142 SE The Epistemology of Disagreement (2016S)

Course topic: Disagreement is ubiquitous in human interactions. The epistemological interest of disagreement emerges in the following questions: If you are arguing with a subject you regard as your peer, and you discover that the two of you disagree about a certain subject matter, how should you change your beliefs? Does disagreement constitute evidence that you are wrong, or that you are more likely to be so? Or, to the contrary, should it bolster your confidence that you are right, or more likely to be so?

Course aim: The students will become familiar with the debate about the epistemology of disagreement and with the different positions that have been defended by contemporary authors: among these, so-called conciliatory and steadfastness strategies. They will become acquainted with the main arguments that militate in favour or against each of these alternatives and will develop the capacity to defend one or the other view through original, independent strategies.