Kubin, E., Puryear, C., Schein, C., & Gray, K. (2021). Personal experiences bridge moral and political divides better than facts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(6), e2008389118.
In nonmoral disagreements, facts and personal experiences are weighed equally, but in moral disagreements, subjective experiences increase respect by increasing perceptions of rationality.
Facts are objective statistics and evidence obtained from reports and articles, while personal experiences are subjective anecdotes about lived events.
The article assumes respect is the ultimate goal. According to the text, “Here, we leave aside the question of persuasion to focus on how best to foster respect in moral disagreements with political opponents.” The article argues one should disregard persuasion and emphasize respect, but the article fails to recognize not all arguments are aggressive. In many cases, debates occur between individuals who already respect each other, which explains why they are willing to listen to each other’s differing perspectives. Therefore, in these circumstances, facts are needed to sway people’s decisions. Simply earning someone’s respect won’t convince them to forget their biases and adopt a completely new idea.
Okay. Now think with the ideas of this article about your own project. How could the reading be useful?