The Way Forward Peter Boghossian (2019)

New Discourses convened in October of 2019 in the National Liberal Club of London for a day-long conference titled Speaking Truth to Social Justice. There, Portland State University philosophy professor Peter Boghossian gave a talk about the need to “speak truth in the face of danger,” parrhesia, as the Ancient Greeks called it, as this applies to Critical Social Justice.

The Way Forward | Peter Boghossian

Ten of Peter’s principles, strategies, and techniques that can be used to engage in impossible conversations (taken from his book How to Have Impossible Conversations) are listed below.

An impossible conversation feels futile because it takes place between people who hold radically different ideas, beliefs, morals, politics, or worldviews. It is one where people are likely to argue and even fight if no rules are governing the conservation.

1. 00:09:52 Listen 
2. 00:12:47 Criticize constructively 
3. 00:14:20 Ask how do you know that 
4. 00:16:18 Ask the other person to place their belief on a scale 
5. 00:19:14 Ask a disconfirmation question 
6. 00:24:40 Don't say 'yes but' say 'yes and' 
7. 00:25:35 Build golden bridges (save face) 
8. 00:26:32 Don't apologize 
9. 00:27:32 Be sincere 
10. 00:29:02 Be willing to revise your beliefs and say you don't know 
11. 00:30:18 Summary of points 

•  Impossible Conversations Navigating conversations across ideological divides