Resolving Disagreement Through Mutual Respect

Abstract

This paper explores the scope and limits of rational consensus through mutual respect, with the primary focus on the best known formal model of consensus: the Lehrer-Wagner model. We consider various arguments against the rationality of the Lehrer-Wagner model as a model of consensus about factual matters. We conclude that models such as this face problems in achieving rational consensus on disagreements about unknown factual matters, but that they hold considerable promise as models of how to rationally resolve non-factual disagreements. © 2012 The Author(s).