Why should I believe you? Why should you believe me?
Behind our beliefs, there looms the figure of Authority. Can we effectively evaluate the truth of a claim without dealing with what authority we trust?
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Author: Charles Randall Paul
Charles Randall Paul is the President of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy and Chairman of The World Table, PBC. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Committee on Social Thought, an MBA from Harvard, and a BS in Social Psychology from BYU.
Are We Pursuing Impossible Conversations?
How discussions are pre-loaded for failure.
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Why Bother Engaging with Stupid, Duped, or Evil People?
This is the sixth in a series by Arthur Peña, Charles Randall Paul, and Jacob Hess called “Inevitable Influencers: Why (deep down) we all want—and need—to persuade each other of what we see as good, beautiful, and true.” Previous pieces include “Why Persuasion Should be a Sweet (Not a Dirty) Word”; “The Threat of Persuasion,” and “My Truth? Your Truth? No Truth?”; “The Virtues of Strong Disagreement,” and “Our Judgment Against Judgment.”
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Our Judgement Against Judgement
Being judged for being “judgmental” has become so commonplace we hardly think twice about it. But sound judgment says we should.
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The Virtues of Strong Disagreement
Serious differences generate serious discomfort for us all. Could that be why they’re so good for us?
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My truth? Your truth? No truth?
The dwindling sense of a common pursuit of truth is contributing to a deteriorating public discourse. Maybe it’s time to stand up for the truth about truth.
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The Threat of Persuasion
What if deeper conversation threatens my very sense of self? In most cases it is infinitely worthwhile to engage in such “rival contestation.”
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Why Persuasion Should Be a Sweet (Not a Dirty) Word
Endless sales, politicking, and bickering have convinced many to see persuasion as a bad thing (“as long as you don’t try and persuade me”). We’re going to try and persuade you otherwise.
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