Perspectives, Understanding, and the

Right/Wrong Distinction

with Stephen C. Walker, PhD

PLEASE EMAIL US AT: info@kibbitznest.org to reserve your spot

Tonight we’ll have a cooperative, open-ended discussion about perspectives—about where people are “coming from” when they say what they say, believe what they believe, and react the way they do to situations. It seems obvious that every perspective is partial, and that no one can truly share in a perspective they don’t have. But it seems equally obvious that this is no obstacle to productive interaction: many of our relationships work just fine without either party needing to understand fully where the other is coming from.

Through thinking about these two things together—our inability to understand each other’s point of view plus our ability to love and cooperate with each other regardless—we can arrive at something very, very far from obvious. If failure to understand another person fully is no bar to interacting with them, if indeed we must fail (at some level) to understand what they believe and say, then whether we consider someone to be wrong or not is entirely a practical question. We call someone “wrong” when (so far as we can tell) we just can’t see things the way they do, or understand why somebody would see them that way…but this is, in fact, how it stands even with people we call “right”. Is the difference between a “right” view of things and a “wrong” view of things simply a difference between people we seek productive interaction with and people we don’t?

Stephen C. Walker holds a PhD in Philosophy of Religions from the University of Chicago Divinity School. He studies philosophy & the history of philosophy across multiple traditions; his research focuses on classical Chinese thought & especially on Daoism. Walker has also worked extensively with Sanskrit materials, particularly those reflecting the classical heritage of exacting interreligious debate. Interests thata inform his writing & teaching include the personal & social contexts, & the role that humanistic studies can play in cultivating appreciation for diverse points of view

For more info please visit kibbitznest.com and kibbitznest.org and graham.uchicago.edu

Thursday, October 19th, 2023

6:00-7:15pm

Free & open to the public

Join us as we begin our FALL Liberal Arts Discussion Series

A collaboration with the

The University of Chicago Graham School
hosting presentations and discussions of original research