Treacherous Ascents: On Seeking Common Ground for Conflict Resolution

Christian Campolo

doi:10.22329/il.v25i1.1043

Abstract

The judgment competent reasoners exhibit in deciding when reasoning should not be used to resolve disagreements is eroded by adopting the popular strategy of ascending to higher levels of generality. That strategy encourages disputants to believeoften incorrectly-that they stand on some common ground that can be exploited to reach agreement. But if we regularly assume that we share values and interests with our opponents in seemingly intractable disputes, we risk losing the ability to judge whether or not we share enough. And when we lose track of the difference between promising and unpromising conditions for reasoning, we end up trying to reason at the wrong times. Such reasoning can in turn seriously damage our reasoning skills themselves.

Highlights

This paper is about a popular strategy for dealing with impasses we reach when reasoning together
We maintain that if we can get them to ascend to this common ground, they may come to see that they share some values, and that their dispute really stems from the fact that they interpret these shared values in different ways
My claim is that this strategy is a high-stakes gamble in the sense that it involves a tacit reliance on improbable assumptions, and in the sense that it places at risk the very skills we employ when we reason

Summary

Introduction

This paper is about a popular strategy for dealing with impasses we reach when reasoning together. We maintain that if we can get them to ascend to this common ground, they may come to see that they share some values, and that their dispute really stems from the fact that they interpret these shared values in different ways. This recognition, we claim, may help them to understand each other better, and to go some way towards resolving their differences. My claim is that this strategy is a high-stakes gamble in the sense that it involves a tacit reliance on improbable assumptions, and in the sense that it places at risk the very skills we employ when we reason. As strategies go, it is fairly far-fetched and dangerous

Examples

Reasoning Together

The Harm in Trying

Generality and Distortions

Strategic Ascent