“Were we ever concerned about truth in the first place?” with Stephen Walker

Kibbitznest Liberal Arts Discussions are a collaboration with The University of Chicago Graham School to host presentations and discussions of original research.

FREE & OPEN to the Public

Registration is not required but appreciated due to space limitations.

We often think of “truth” as something simple—factual, objective, plain as day—and opposed to the equally simple “falsity”. But if we think about the roles these concepts play in our lives, we can see they’re not simple at all. When we’re concerned about truth we’re concerned about trust, about risk, about identity and guidance and meaning. If anything, a crisis of confidence in truth can help us learn about our own emotional reasons for caring about it, which in turn can help us empathize and negotiate with people who see things differently than we do.

Stephen Walker is a PhD candidate at University of Chicago Divinity School studying philosophy and the history of philosophy across multiple traditions. His main research focuses on classical Chinese thought; his dissertation, Boundless Ways: Navigating Norms in the Zhuangzi, examines that text's pragmatic and pluralistic critique of value.

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