Of course I am right! Or a discussion of how being open to being wrong requires a paradoxical approach
Document Type
Presentation
Date of Original Version
3-10-2021
Abstract
From Leoni's event descroption:
"The intention of this presentation is to discuss the teleological and ethical dimension of our judgment upon our judgment, literally an “auto-meta-judgment”, a moment of thought in which we evaluate our own thinking according to both ethical and logical considerations. The aim of this paper is to determine the characteristics of such an act of self-awareness and to demonstrate how, despite many possible levels of self-reflection, we can avoid an infinite regress and come to a level of derivative reflection where the entire corpus of transcendental statements would be reduced to goodness and logical correctness.
If, then, thinking one right is not only common but epistemologically inevitable, only a dedicated and paradoxical ethical approach stemming from compassion and a sense of human fellowship can take us past the threshold of openness to others’ ideas and views. In a time of political fragmentation and tension, however, we must question whether we even want to do so in the first place.
Drawing from philosophical tradition ranging from Aristotle to Merleau-Ponty in the first part and pivoting towards more mundane yet crucial political debates in the second, we will try to ask ourselves: how can I talk to someone who holds different ideas from mine, without renouncing my critical thinking? Can I overcome the innate and inevitable notion that I am always right in thinking what I think?"