Ethical Talk: Embrace Difference - Improve Your Actions; 20 Thought-provoking Lessons

by Adam Ferner, Darren Chetty

Whether it’s in the local, national or international arena, there are huge divisions both within and between political parties, and views and values fluctuate wildly across society. Nobody seems able to agree. Nobody even seems able to agree to disagree. So, what can we do?

In this book, we’ll look at how we can discuss divisive topics more effectively. We’ll examine the different modes and methods of discourse and analysis and, through examining some of the common obstacles to productive conversations, we discuss actionable ways to encourage positive, helpful debate.
 

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Philosophy

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2019

About the author

Dr Adam Ferner has worked in academic philosophy both in France and the UK, but much prefers working outside the academy in youth centres and other alternative learning spaces.

He has published widely in philosophical and popular journals and has written four books, Organisms and Personal Identity (Routledge, 2016), Think Differently (Aurum, 2018) and – with Nadia Mehdi and Zara Bain – Crash Course: Philosophy (Ivy, 2019). His fourth book, How to Disagree (Aurum, 2019) is co-authored with Darren Chetty. He is currently co-writing his fifth book, Philosophical Empires, with Chris Meyns, forthcoming in 2020.

He is an associate editor of the Forum’s Essays. He is interested in co-authoring and writing collaborations where credit for intellectual labour is apportioned fairly and appropriately remunerated. With this in mind that he set up the Changelings writing group at a youth hub in Finsbury Park.

Reviews

[Mrtfalls · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall I didn´t find this book very helpful. It recycled a lot of points e.g. about self care, ideas around epistemic labour in unhelpful ways. For example, it uncritically restates the Audre Lorde quote about self care being a radical act. I think taking care of yourself is important. However, to say it is a radical act akin to taking strike action is false in my opinion. Moreover, for me being politically active is a form of taking care of myself, I not only do it because I think it is important and I think it can change the world for the better, but even if you don´t always win, I feel dignified and that I have a sense of purpose when doing it.

There are other issues I had with it, including around epistemic labour, uncritically bringing up ideas from privilege theory, and the idea that "it is not my job to educate you", go "educate yourself".

Nevertheless, not all of the points are totally bad. If I got one thing out of the book it is in one of the first sentences: "This book isnt designed to make disagreements smoother, or more palatable, or to dissolve them... When looking at how to disagree, the best tactic is not to pretend you don´t". In my opinion this how best cope and deal with disagreements. I am upfront that I dont agree or I have a different opinion. There will be some brief discomfort but often the result of it, in my experience, is that it extinguishes the tension and allows everyone to speak more freely.

[Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this would be more about conversations and building confidence in a polite and kind way. It had some of that, but infused with racism, feminism, and other things that aren't what all disagreements are about.

[Angel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of this book because it didn't really teach me about how to disagree but more so about what and why to disagree. I do in fact not hate the format and way the writers wrote this book. It is in a format that makes it a very interactive read. I am not opposed to reading another book from these authors should I come across it.

[Ilmi Kaba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it in 3 hours before class, pretty okay... basic ideas nothing interesting besides the whole "mansplaining" idea. "Mansplaining" as people describe it, is just explaining an idea assuming the recipient of the information knows nothing of the topic. This should be the generic format for answering questions, of course tonality is important to consider.

[Maughn Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic introduction to the logic, ethics, politics, and, yes, aesthetics of argumentative (in both senses of the word) discourse! Can't wait to use this with my philosophy of education students!

[Taylor Cataly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good advice and insight into navigating difficult conversations. Also love the inclusion of real world examples and recommended resources from various mediums (film, podcasts, literature). I’ll frequently return to it as a resource for the future! 👍🏽👍🏽

[BooksAndMinerals · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about the philosophy, ethics, and morality of arguing. It was a quick, okay read.

[Robin Przybylowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful to understand some social settings.