– CANCELLED – Why perspective taking?

Prof. Dr. Heidi Maibom (University of Cincinnati)

11.03.2020, 4:15 pm – RUB, GA 3/143

We have all been told to take another person’s perspective at times. Common sense holds that this makes a difference to our understanding of others. But in recent years, philosophers such as Peter Goldie have argued that it is impossible to replicate another’s experience by pretending to be them in their situation. And the psychological evidence is not encouraging. Apparently, people really are not able to understand each other very well. I argue that the problem, though serious, is overblown. Part of the problem is that people have not taken seriously enough the idea of perspectives and how changing them changes our attitudes towards the objects in someone’s environment. I explain what perspective taking really is, what it does, and how it aids interpersonal understanding.