Join us for the Philosophy of Dialogue Conference March 27-28\, 2026\, hosted by Harvard University's Edmond &\; Lily Safra Center for Ethics\, co-organized by the Center&rsquo\;s Civil Discourse Fellows Cassie Finley and Matthew Willis\, and Notre Dame Center for Philosophy of Religion Fellow A.G. Holdier. \;
\nThe Philosophy of Dialogue is an invitation to take dialogue seriously as a subject of philosophical inquiry. Dialogue pervades human life\, yet philosophers have mostly approached it indirectly\, treating its component parts in relative isolation across disparate subfields. \; This conference proposes that there is something unified worth examining here &ndash\; the structure\, aims\, and norms of genuine exchange between persons. Philosophy of dialogue explores the makeup\, mechanics\, motives\, and morality of discourse\, investigating the interpersonal\, intrapersonal\, and institutional ingredients of conversational exchanges\; it focuses on both the relational aspects of our communicative practices\, as well as their existential\, expressive\, and epistemic functions. By bringing together philosophers working on topics like testimony\, virtue theory\, argumentation\, speech acts\, social epistemology\, ethics\, education\, and related areas\, this conference will facilitate the development of a research network and coherent subfield centered on philosophy of dialogue.
\nRegistration is required and limited\, so early registration is encouraged. Lunch will be provided both days to participants. Please Note: If you wish to attend both days\, you must select both Friday and Saturday when registering. Registration closes the end of the day Thursday\, March 26. If you're interested in attending the conference and registration has closed\, please email Cassie Finley (cassie.l.finley@gmail.com).
\nConference Sessions Schedule
\nFriday\, March 27
\nSession I: The Virtues of Dialogue (10 am - 12 pm)
\nMarina McCoy (Boston College) - &ldquo\;Epistemic Limit &\; Dialogue: Philosophy in the Way of Plato&rsquo\;s Socrates"
\nAndrew Aberdein (Florida Tech) - &ldquo\;Virtue Argumentation As Virtue Dialogue Theory&rdquo\;
\nSession II: The Challenges of Dialogue (1 pm - 3 pm)
\nSally Haslanger (MIT) - &ldquo\;Dialogue&rsquo\;s Limits: A Bias towards Doxastic and Epistemic Engagement&rdquo\;
\nDarien Pollock (Boston University) - &ldquo\;Antagonistic Speech Acts: Black English\, Illegibility\, &\; Natural Language Classification&rdquo\; \;
\nSession III: Civic Dialogue \; (3:30 pm - 5:30 pm)
\nMatt Ferkany (Michigan State) - &ldquo\;Political Arguing is Prima Facie Respectful&rdquo\;
\nMarilie Coetsee (Hope College) - &ldquo\;On Giving Others the Benefit of the Doubt: Open-minded Inquiry with Epistemic Inferiors&rdquo\;
\nSaturday\, March 28
\nSession IV: \; Evaluating Dialogue \; (10 am - 12 pm)
\nCatherine Elgin (Harvard) - &ldquo\;Opening the Black Box: Epistemic Access to Expert Testimony&rdquo\;
\nScott Aikin (Vanderbilt) - &ldquo\;Meta-argumentation and the Owl of Minerva Problem&rdquo\;
\nSession V: \; Dialogue &\; Technology (1 pm - 3 pm)
\nAlida Liberman (Southern Methodist) - &ldquo\;The Relational Benefits of Dialogue and the Limits of Artificial Intelligence&rdquo\;
\nRipley Stroud (UNC Chapel Hill) - &ldquo\;Internet Trolls and the Principle of Charity&rdquo\;
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