You are familiar with the frustration that accompanies some conversations on topics on which you and your opponent have opposing views in a debate. For example, whether there is a God, whether homeopathy has a demonstrably beneficial effect, whether one politician is preferable to another. The frustration of having your well-reasoned arguments dismissed then leads to a tendency to start arguing.
Street Epistemology (SE) is a way to avoid such arguments and heated exchanges of views, to continue the discussion and perhaps even to come to a change of mind. Street Epistemology usually makes the conversation more effective and productive. By asking many questions, unencumbered by one’s own position, we can examine how the opponent reached their conclusion, whether they stand firmly behind it, or what could possibly change their opinion.
It is essential to note that SE is not a one-way dialogue. The goal of the people who teach and disseminate SE is for the method to take hold and be applied in the other direction, to “their ranks”. The result should then be to see if our beliefs and opinions match the reality of the situation. This makes it possible for us to reason which choice is best. Whether policy, religion, or private life.
If one believes something, one should have good reasons for it. Strong beliefs influence one’s decisions, one’s dealings with others, and ultimately one’s whole life. And others also. Former Cardinal Duka, from his position, influences thousands of believers of all ages and social statuses who may then believe that their faith places them morally above non-believers, which can lead to the promotion of their dogmas at the expense of other people. Consider, for example, the situation of atheists in the USA.
So if by asking many questions we can move more towards reality – what are those questions? What questions to ask? The method could actually be summed up in a very simple procedure:
WHAT do you believe?
WHY do you believe it?
HOW did you verify the reason why?
By this method, we can then examine with relative ease on what (and how solid) foundations our beliefs stand, which can then be corrected or abandoned as false, unrighteous.
The great advantage of the SE method is that it does not provoke defensive reactions, which are quite natural for a person to admit that his accepted paradigm is wrong, and at the same time he actually admits his own “defeat” in the debate. And the more he is emotionally involved in such beliefs, the more defensive response he experiences. The SE method allows new light to be shed on these beliefs and allows them to be examined respectfully by the bearer. Thus giving him the chance to come to knowledge on his own and without conflict.
Learn more on Street Epistemology International
Recommended YouTube SE channels:
