Is Civility Overrated?: A Panel Discussion for APPE IEB Finalists

34th Annual Annual Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Conference (with Rachel Robison-Greene and Deborah Mower, Moderated by Richard Greene)

Norfolk, VA, February 22, 2025

In an era of scorched-earth political disagreements, many say civility is an overrated virtue. At the same time, public commentators often decry a lack of conversational civility and an inability to find common ground in the public square. They worry that as our political climate has heated up, we’ve begun to forget the crucial skill of talking (and listening) to each other, and the strained relationship we often share with our fellow citizens bears this out. In this year’s lunchtime discussion for APPE IEB National Finalists, panelists will consider competing definitions of civility and arguments about its moral and political nature with the goal of comparing conceptual resources to aid our understanding of an often-misunderstood virtue. Q&A and open discussion will follow an initial moderated conversation.