Disagreement in the Digital Age: Philosophical Reflection About/With New Technology
(Summer 2022)
This seminar will focus on the problems—and potential—presented by online communication platforms. Specifically, we will set out to consider the conditions—material, political, technological—that encourage productive discussion and disagreement, and those that undermine it. We will examine the value of open communication and disagreement in both a theoretical way—by reading and reflecting on philosophical texts—and in a practical way—by experimenting with diverse discussion formats, online and IRL. The aim throughout is to assess the (in)compatibility of novel communication platforms with the communicative values we currently hold. Readings in this course will focus both on what makes good discussion good, as well as how technological change shapes how discussion is currently practiced. For this latter topic, we’ll consider specific issues like misinformation, echo chambers, and anonymity on the internet, as well as broader topics like the real-world effects of online hate speech. To aid our reflection we will engage in a variety of experiments to tease out the qualities of different communication methods. So, in-class discussion will take many different shapes, and outside of class we will try out different technologically-mediated platforms—e.g., anonymous forums, wikis, audio and video posts, social media—to put our philosophy into practice.
(For more information about the Hamilton College Summer Program in Philosophy, click here)