What Would Change Your Mind? Evidence and Disagreement in Everyday Life

Why do you believe what you believe? We often assume that our beliefs are based on solid evidence, but a closer look reveals that many of our beliefs in fact come from sources whose reliability is at least worth questioning: our upbringing, the social groups we are part of, political parties we are drawn to, and so on. Similarly, we often assume that our beliefs are rich and detailed, when many of them turn out to be fragmented and riddled with blindspots. How do our beliefs about the world actually form, and when are our beliefs rational? And why do we form beliefs about the world anyways? In this course, we will look at what beliefs are, where they come from, why we have them, and what makes them justified. We will learn what philosophers, scientists, historians, theologians, and other thinkers have discovered about these questions. Among other things, we will ask ourselves: What would it take for you to change your mind about something you believe deeply? Suppose you and a friend look at the same evidence and come away convinced of opposite things. Should either of you reconsider? Should you think for yourself? It sounds like good advice, but almost everything we know comes from other people. Whom should you believe? We'll ask when to trust others, when to question them, and what to do when their judgment conflicts with our own. How can you know whom to trust? That question gets especially interesting when experts disagree and you can't check the evidence for yourself. In this course, we will look at real-life case studies such as climate change skepticism and COVID-19 conspiracy theories to think through how we actually - and how we might want to - make up our minds in a complicated world. No prerequisites.