Mere Fidelity

How Do We Change Our Minds?

Nov 12, 2025 · 51 min · Season 2 · Episode 18 · 24.8 MB
0:00-51:32

Streams straight from the publisher. podnod never proxies or re-hosts episode audio.

Send us Fan Mail

Derek Rishmawy and Alastair Roberts discuss how minds actually change—through paradigm shifts, careful arguments, or accumulated experience. They explore why steel-manning opponents and engaging charitably with the strongest versions of opposing views is more persuasive than antagonistic debate. The key insight: the best positions emerge when you're willing to incorporate real strengths from other viewpoints and make warranted concessions, which requires moving beyond polarized combat toward genuine good-faith dialogue.

Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.

Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, The Pursuit of Character: Recovering the Virtues, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity