Project Dialogues: Emma Explores the Art of Disagreeing Well
8 May 2025 - All
Here at Wycombe Abbey, we empower pupils to pursue their passions beyond the curriculum. Budding philosopher Emma (UV) has recently started a new initiative called Project Dialogues where, in its initial stage, she interviews a variety of different people to explore the issue of how to disagree well. Below, Emma shares what inspired her to embark on this exciting project.
‘I was inspired by my passion for philosophy, particularly by the way it encourages us to engage thoughtfully in disagreement. Learning to tackle counterarguments, think critically, and disagree respectfully is so important today. Especially in the online world, it’s increasingly rare to see kindness between people who hold differing beliefs. Disagreement isn’t about asserting your opinion and arguing it relentlessly. It’s about separating the person from the disagreement and being open to the possibility that you might be wrong.
So far, I’ve been privileged to interview so many inspiring people, including Benjamin Friedman, Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University, Stephen Lam, former Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, and Bianca Bustamante, GB3 racer and the first female Formula 1 development driver. Most recently, I interviewed Olympic diver, Guo Jingjing, though a favourite from earlier on was with Peter Worley, Philosopher in Chief of the Philosophy Foundation.
When it comes to securing interviews, my approach is fairly straightforward, I usually draft an email and send it out to a number of people I’d love to speak with. Sometimes I’m lucky, and one or two respond.
If I could interview anyone (dead or alive), I think I’d have to choose Plato. His Dialogues were the original inspiration for my project. Much of his work is written in dialogue form, which really shows how the exchange of ideas can unfold in real time, with all the nuance and depth that comes from genuine disagreement.
Looking ahead, there are some exciting developments for Dialogues. I’m currently working on a collaboration with The Philosophy Foundation to develop teaching resources and conduct in-depth research on disagreement. I hope to share these resources with schools across the UK and internationally. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the future holds!’
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