We live in a polarised world where all too often people talk past each other. But do you know when to believe what others say? For example, how quick should we be to accept something that someone else tells us is true, and what should we be looking out for when assessing a person's trustworthiness? Meanwhile, what should we do when we encounter disagreements with people who seem to be our equals? How and when should we adjust our beliefs, and how does the appropriate response vary depending on the evidence? These challenges may be especially important in the arena of religious disagreements. How should we weigh the evidence for and against various theistic and atheistic stances?
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There are 5 modules in this course
What's included
1 video3 readings1 discussion prompt
Professor Peter Graham points out that a great deal of what we know, we know because other people told us. But can we always believe them? Should we be trusting, or sceptical? The truth lies somewhere in the middle. This lecture will offer you some guidelines on how to find it, and on how to avoid the pitfalls created by our fears, biases, and over-confidence.
What's included
8 videos8 readings6 assignments4 discussion prompts
Resolving disagreements may seem easy when one person clearly knows more about the topic of disagreement than the other. But what about cases where both parties are equally knowledgable and capable - in other words, when they are intellectual equals? Professor Catherine Elgin discusses various strategies we can adopt, and helps us understand how people who have the same evidence and reasoning ability can still disagree.
What's included
4 videos7 readings7 assignments4 discussion prompts
Dr Katherine Dormandy explains why religious disagreements are so often particularly hard to resolve. Distinguishing between two types of evidence one can have in religious discussions - public and private - she evaluates three Evidence Weighting Policies we can use in determining how to approach others when talking about religion.
What's included
8 videos5 readings6 assignments4 discussion prompts
What's included
6 readings1 peer review1 discussion prompt
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Recommended if you're interested in Philosophy
Erasmus University Rotterdam
The University of Edinburgh
Erasmus University Rotterdam
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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