This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice.
When someone just as smart as you disagrees.

You’ve thought hard about a question and reached a conclusion. Then someone you respect, just as informed and just as careful, reaches the opposite one. What should you do? Dig in, back down, or something in between?

This lecture starts with that puzzle and works toward a considered answer. It begins with what disagreement really is, and why it matters who is disagreeing with you. A friend with the same facts and the same abilities is different from an expert, a novice, or a stranger you know nothing about. You’ll see how to tell them apart, and how hard that can be.

From there, you’ll look at the main answers philosophers have given. Some say you should give the other view equal weight. Others say you can reasonably hold your ground. You’ll weigh what each gets right and where each runs into trouble. You’ll also explore a related question: what to do when you learn your own thinking may have been unreliable, perhaps because you were tired, rushed, or biased, even if you can’t see where it went wrong.

The lecture also asks whether widespread disagreement should make us doubt everything, and why it shouldn’t. You’ll finish with practical habits for handling disagreement in your own life.
Every technical term is explained the first time it appears, and you don’t need any background in philosophy.

If you’ve ever wondered how seriously to take someone who disagrees with you, this lecture gives you a clearer way to decide.

Part of Your Everyday Mental Toolkit: Better thinking. Better choices. Better living.