Peter Boghossian is an American philosopher and an assistant professor of philosophy at Portland State University. WebsitePeter BoghossianWikipediaPeter BoghossianTwitter@peterboghossianYouTubePeter BoghossianGooglePeter Boghossian Twitter Tweets by Peter Boghossian Posts: Peter BoghossianImpossible Conversations Navigating conversations across ideological dividesBooks: Peter BoghossianHow to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay (2019)Videos: Peter BoghossianImpossible Conversations … Continue reading Peter Boghossian American philosopher
New Discourses convened in October of 2019 in the National Liberal Club of London for a day-long conference titled Speaking Truth to Social Justice. There, Portland State University philosophy professor Peter Boghossian gave a talk about the need to “speak truth in the face of danger,” parrhesia, as the Ancient Greeks called it, as this … Continue reading The Way Forward Peter Boghossian (2019)
How can we begin to resolve our problems, if even our conversations about them keep breaking down? video playerImpossible Conversations | Peter Boghossian The larger point is that what we need to do is we need to speak openly and honestly about things and if we don’t those problems – the earth doesn’t give a … Continue reading Impossible Conversations Peter Boghossian (2019)
In our current political climate, it seems impossible to have a civil conversation with someone who has a different opinion. Dialogue is shut down when perspectives clash. Heated debates on Facebook and Twitter often lead to shaming, hindering any possibility of productive discourse. In this book, How to Have Impossible Conversations, Peter Boghossian and James … Continue reading How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay (2019)
video player Harvard Commencement speech 2013 | Oprah Winfrey Transcript This is a transcript of where she talks about the importance of having face-to-face conversations with people whom you may disagree. Posts where this video is embedded Conversation Covenant Creating a psychologically safer space for impossible conversations Conversational Leadership Framework ** A framework to help understand the … Continue reading Harvard Commencement Speech Oprah Winfrey (2013)
And even though this is the college where Facebook was born, my hope is that you would try to go out and have more face-to-face conversations with people you may disagree with. That you’ll have the courage to look them in the eye and hear their point of view. And help make sure that the … Continue reading Have More Conversations with People Whom You Disagree Oprah Winfrey
This event is now fully booked and registration has been closed. I will be running it again in October. See here for more information or here for information about other events. Title: Zoom Knowledge Café: We are not enemies, but friends Date: Friday 18th September 2020 Time: 14:00 to 17:00 BST (London time) [your … Continue reading Event: Zoom Knowledge Café: We Are Not Enemies, but Friends I 18th September 2020, 14:00 to 17:00 (London time)
A conversation covenant is an agreement between two or more persons to abide by a set of rules when engaging in conversation. The rules are intended to help people work in harmony to create a psychologically safer space for difficult or seemingly impossible conversations. Credit: David Gurteen and David Creelman Posts where this quotation is … Continue reading What Is a Conversation Covenant? David Gurteen and David Creelman
Gurteen Knowledge Blog March 10, 2023, 16:46Much is written about difficult conversations, but much less about impossible conversations. But what is the difference? Here is how I define the two types of conversation: Handling impossible conversations is about more than just having a bunch of tricks or techniques at our disposal, although these insightful ideas from … Continue reading Engaging in Impossible Conversations Impossible conversations are different from difficult conversations
Polarization of opinions is becoming more prevalent in today’s society and is creating both unrest at the societal level as well as conflict within small groups with different views. We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial divides. We fail to communicate with each other and treat people with conflicting beliefs as our enemies. … Continue reading Opinion Polarization We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial divides
Our beliefs are deeply rooted and are based on little evidence, yet we argue and fight over them. It is essential that we better understand the nature of our beliefs and how they are formed and learn to question and revise them. Our beliefs We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial divides. At … Continue reading Rethinking Our Beliefs It is not easy to change our beliefs
When discussing a controversial topic, it is easy for the discussion to become hostile and for the participants to launch ad hominem attacks, thus creating a climate of fear. Participants need to agree to a set of rules upfront that helps create a safer psychological environment to explore ideas openly. What is a conversation covenant? … Continue reading Conversation Covenant Creating a psychologically safer space for impossible conversations
Principle: Create a psychologically safe space. To foster meaningful conversation in a Knowledge Café or any small group setting, it’s crucial to establish a safe space where all participants feel equal, comfortable, and free to express themselves without fear. Reduce fear Although it is never possible to eliminate fear, everything should be done to reduce … Continue reading Knowledge Café Principle: Create a Safe Space Where conversation can flourish
Disagree constructively: Disagreement is an inevitable part of life. Most of the time, we do it poorly. We need to learn to disagree constructively. How do we go about it? A simple disagreement hierarchy provides guidance. Disagreement is an inevitable part of life. But unfortunately, we mostly do it poorly. Paul Graham’s disagreement hierarchy provides … Continue reading Disagree Constructively How to disagree well
A difficult conversation is unpleasant, one where we feel discomfort and awkwardness, such as asking our boss for a pay rise or confronting a neighbor. So how do we handle difficult conversations? Examples of difficult conversations include: Discussing a difficult diagnosis. Breaking up with a partner. Addressing a problem with a friend. Discussing an issue … Continue reading Difficult Conversations Navigating emotionally challenging conversations
An impossible conversation may feel futile as it occurs between individuals who possess radically different ideas, beliefs, morals, politics, or worldviews. Such conversations are likely to lead to arguments and even physical altercations. So, how can we engage in impossible conversations? To engage in an impossible conversation, all parties must establish certain preconditions and be … Continue reading Impossible Conversations Navigating conversations across ideological divides
