Having Impossible Conversations

Part One:

An Introduction to

“I value truth. I want to believe as many true things as possible, but also as few false things as possible. For whatever beliefs I hold I’d like to understand what I could learn to change my confidence about them.”

• Reid Nicewonder, host of Cordial Curiosity on YouTube & Twitch

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Street Epistemology?

• Street Epistemology is a conversational tool that helps people reflect on the reliability of the methods they use to arrive at their deeply-held beliefs.
• While professional philosophers may publish articles and books, anyone who values truth can engage friends, family, community members, etc. in respectful dialogues about how beliefs are known to be true.

“If you really want to change someone’s mind on a moral or political matter, you’ll need to see things from that person’s angle as well as your own. And if you do truly see it the other person’s way—deeply and intuitively—you might even find your own mind opening in response.”

• Dr. Jonathan Haidt, Author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion

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What is It?

• Street Epistemology is based on Socratic Method combined with the field of epistemology.
• The Socratic Method is a method of instruction used by Socrates to explore the underlying beliefs that shape one’s views and opinions and foster critical thinking through the use of questioning.
• Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge.

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I find that often half the population believes one thing, and the other half believes the opposite, and this seems to be getting us into trouble.

• Mark Solomon, host of the podcast/radio show Being Reasonable

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Why Do This?

• Whether you realize it or not, you have arrived at your beliefs using specific criteria: modes of justification.
• Even when you intend to do good, you can produce bad outcomes when you act upon false beliefs.
• Street Epistemology addresses the root cause of such bad outcomes: the unreliable methods by which we tend to acquire such beliefs in the first place.

"The core of the dialogue is not changing beliefs, but changing the way people form beliefs."

• Dr. Peter Boghossian, co-author of How to Have Impossible Conversations

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The Goal of Street Epistemology

• The goal is to encourage ourselves and others to examine the methods we use to judge the accuracy of truth claims, and ultimately to improve the reliability of our epistemology.
• While people may alter conclusions as a result, that is not the express goal.
• No one should be pressured to accept any specific belief or to act against their own best interests.

“My conversations would turn into debates, and then ultimately arguments, and the people that I was around never felt further away as a result. I was beginning to feel as if there was an invisible wall between myself and the people I cared about.”

• Dr. Tyrone Wells, host of Let’s Chat on YouTube

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Good vs. Bad SE

• Cooperative
• Conversational
• Consensual
• Honest
• Respectful
• Seeking to understand

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• Confrontational
• Argumentative
• Coercive
• Deceptive
• Manipulative
• Seeking to persuade

Street Epistemology is… Street Epistemology is NOT…

Video Example

Credit: Cordial Curiosity

https://www.youtube.com/c/CordialCuriosity

Summary

• In a nutshell, Street Epistemology is simply a Socratic Dialogue that attempts to identify the reliability of the methods used to form deeply-held beliefs in a respectful manner.
• Knowing how to formulate good questions will work in most cases to uncover unreliable justifications.
• The better you understand epistemology, the more easily you can see where someone’s implicit epistemology may be unreliable (even your own!)

“This is about helping a person reflect on their belief formation process later, long after the conversation is over.”

• Anthony Magnabosco, founder of Street Epistemology International

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“Impossible Conversations Club” Meetings

Every week that this club meets we will…

• Have a quick lesson on philosophy, epistemology, or SE techniques and strategies or watch an SE video
• Have a chance to engage each other in one-on-one SE-style conversations
• De-brief and have a chance to reflect and share our experiences
• Vote on a topic of focus for the next meeting