"Introducing Discord"
Abstract: My goal in this talk is to introduce the concept of discord, a particular kind of interpersonal misunderstanding that derives from the mismatch in how two people apply an generalization of the attributable/non-attributable distinction to one another. I’ll explain what I mean by the attributable/non-attributable distinction, argue that we employ this distinction normally and reflexively in ordinary life in our interpretations of ourselves and of one another, and show how to generalize it to apply to thoughts, emotions, attitudes, states of character, and even body parts, as well as to actions. Then I’ll define discord. I’ll show that discord is an inevitable feature of interpersonal relationships, and that both its existence and our failure to recognize it can make conflicts more personal. And I’ll close by using this to argue that if we want to understand and navigate many of the interpersonal conflicts in our ordinary lives, we need to develop a better answer to the core philosophical question of what it is to be a person.
Mark Schroeder is a Professor at the University of Southern California.
