SAR Snapshot: The Importance of Disagreement

Gratitude for the endorsements of Learning to Disagree

We are living in a world where people can’t get past destructive and unhealthy engagement across differences. Think about your own life, your own social media feeds, your own relationships. Most of us want to know how to better engage across disagreement, including when (and when not) to engage. I hope that Learning to Disagree, my new book out this April, will help shape how people interact in the workplace, at neighborhood gatherings, and around the Thanksgiving table. I use stories from my experience teaching law and living life to show the value of taking the time to learn how to navigate disagreement with greater attention to empathy and nuance.

As we begin the new year, I am delighted to share the recently completed endorsements of Learning to Disagree:

A wonderful, quirky, beautifully written, and often quite funny ode to learning how to live with deep differences. I absolutely loved this book. John Inazu writes with the kind of verve, personality, and attention to character that made me feel like I was reading a novel. Unlike most books, this one might actually change how you argue, fight, love, and even hope. It’s that good.

Shadi Hamid, columnist and editorial board member, Washington Post; author, The Problem of Democracy

Not only helpful, but an absolute delight to read. In a time when there are so few examples of nuance and compassion, John Inazu’s voice is one to pay close attention to.

Justin Whitmel Earley, business lawyer; speaker; bestselling author, Made for People and Habits of the Household

This wonderful, deeply personal, highly entertaining book takes readers inside the brilliant mind and loving heart of an outstanding legal scholar who wants us to grow genuine friendships, even when we have principled disagreements. Here John Inazu shares everyday encounters from law classrooms, faculty offices, local coffee shops, and life at home with his family to illustrate how challenging it is to show empathy, pursue reconciliation, and offer forgiveness in today's polarized society. Rather than demonizing people who think differently or backing away from hard conversations on divisive moral issues—the way many people do—Inazu shows us how to move into today's cultural conflicts with greater charity.

Philip Ryken, president, Wheaton College

Using his law school classroom and personal anecdotes, John Inazu highlights the values of empathy, compassion, forgiveness, and looking for the good in others as some of the most important tools for navigating disagreements in ways that do not dehumanize those whose viewpoints may be different from one’s own. As a college president whose role is to cultivate a campus environment that welcomes and supports a multitude of perspectives, I find Learning to Disagree to be a valuable resource for anyone seeking better dialogue across differences.

Lori S. White, PhD, president, DePauw University

I am grateful for all of these kind endorsements, and I look forward to sharing more about Learning to Disagree with you this Spring!

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Careful observers may also have noticed a slightly revised cover indicating the book’s foreword by my friend, Tish Harrison Warren.