Can we think better by wrestling with conflicting ideas?

Why do we believe our own truths so strongly? What is steel-manning, and why is it so important? What does any of this have to do with F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Keats, or the future of our society? This week’s episode deals with polarization and what we might do about it. Join Eagleman and his guest Isaac Saul, who works to represent different points of view in his newsletter Tangle — all in the name of the intellectual humility that can blossom from grappling with conflicting ideas.

Episode Audio

Episode Video

More Information:

Tangle Newsletter

Better Conflict Bulletin

Beyond Intractability

Interested in the neuroscientific basis of polarization? Check out these other episodes of Inner Cosmos:

Ep 20: Empathy and its limits

Ep 21: How far would you follow authority?

Ep 52: Can societies fight better?

Ep 16: Why we all believe our own truths

And Eps 40, 41, & 42 on whether there’s any such thing as true news.

And keep an eye out for my upcoming book: David Eagleman. Empire of the invisible.

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