Rational Engagement as a Way of Showing Respect to Oneself and Others: How We Ought to Respond to Persons Who Hold Unreasonable Beliefs

Author

Elizabeth Cargile Williams, University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleFollow

Date of Award

8-2017

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Philosophy

Major Professor

Adam Cureton

Committee Members

Nora Berenstain, J. Clerk Shaw, Jon Garthoff

Abstract

We often encounter persons who hold unreasonable beliefs. I explore how respect informs our response to these persons. I conclude that we ought to be willing or disposed to engage in rational discussion sometimes and to some extent with persons who hold unreasonable beliefs as a way of recognizing and respecting their rational nature. I describe what the duty of rational engagement looks like in practice and apply the duty to individual cases. I then explore various considerations, including the consideration of self-respect, that influence whether we have reason to engage and how we should respond in different cases.

Recommended Citation

Williams, Elizabeth Cargile, "Rational Engagement as a Way of Showing Respect to Oneself and Others: How We Ought to Respond to Persons Who Hold Unreasonable Beliefs. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2017.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4913