Disagreement / Key Concepts (ePub)

Regardless of who you are or how you live your life, you disagree
with millions of people on an enormous number of topics from
politics, religion and morality to sport, culture and art. Unless
you are delusional, you are aware that a great many of the people
who disagree with you are just as smart and thoughtful as you are -
in fact, you know that often they are smarter and more informed.
But believing someone to be cleverer or more knowledgeable about a
particular topic usually won't change your mind. Should
it?

This book is devoted to exploring this quandary - what should we do
when we encounter disagreement, particularly when we believe
someone is more of an authority on a subject than we are? The
question is of enormous importance, both in the public arena and in
our personal lives. Disagreement over marriages, beliefs,
friendships and more causes immense personal strife. People with
political power disagree about how to spend enormous amounts of
money, about what laws to pass, or about wars to fight. If only we
were better able to resolve our disagreements, we would probably
save millions of lives and prevent millions of others from living
in poverty.

The first full-length text-book on this philosophical topic,
Disagreement provides students with the tools they need to
understand the burgeoning academic literature and its (often
conflicting) perspectives. Including case studies, sample questions
and chapter summaries, this engaging and accessible book is the
perfect starting point for students and anyone interested in
thinking about the possibilities and problems of this fundamental
philosophical debate.