Our Principles

The Principle of Charity: When approaching a new idea, attempt to understand the idea sympathetically and in its most persuasive form. When you then critique the idea, focus on the argument itself, not the person who said it. Do not attribute bad motives to others' beliefs that they themselves do not claim to have. When disagreeing, work towards unity and towards keeping the conversation going. This means we do not cancel each other in this class. Rather than "calling out," we will "call in," which should be apparent in both the content and tone of our comments.

The Principle of Sacrifice: Acknowledge the weaknesses in your own arguments and privilege the pursuit of truth over "winning" the argument.

The Principle of Humility: None of us are infallible, and all of us surely hold beliefs that are wrong, though we don't know which ones. Remember this when discussing ideas with others who hold different views, and consider this in tandem with the Principle of Charity.

If you feel that a chapter member is breaking one of our principles, please let them know kindly. If it repeats as a pattern, please have a private conversation with them. If the problem continues, you can choose to remove them from certain conversations.