Conflicts today are often caused by deep disagreements — disagreements in which opposing sides no longer share basic truths, beliefs, plausibilities, or criteria of relevance. In these cases, arguments fail not because participants are uninformed or irrational, but because they are oriented within different horizons of meaning, sustained by distinct moralities, environments, and identities. Mass media and social media amplify these differences by creating self-affirming orientation worlds, such as “filter bubbles” and “echo chambers” where people become blind to the interests of their own morality, while rejecting other morals as “evil.”
Ethical differences go beyond reason and raise the question of how we orient ourselves in a world of incommensurable differences that lead into deep conflicts affecting not just our daily lives but also entire societies, cultures, and global politics. In this seminar, we will explore, via the philosophy of orientation, the phenomenon of deep disagreement as well as its societal, ethical, media, and political dimensions.
This seminar is organized Dr. Douglas Giles and Prof. Manuel Knoll; the sessions will take place on Mondays, 9–11 a.m. (US Central Time), beginning on April 20, 2026.
Participation is free, but space is limited. Apply by April 15, 2026 here.