I’m a philosopher who tries to see the best in others – but I know there are limits

Seeing someone charitably requires a balancing act between taking them seriously and trying to see the good in them.

By: Mark Schroeder, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: February 20, 2026

Words: 1,285

Last Updated: 3 days, 5 hours ago

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By Mark Schroeder, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Understanding one another can be hard. There is a big difference between someone snapping at you out of contempt, and calling you out for a mistake because they believe in you and know you can do better. One of these cases calls for anger, but the other for humility or even embarrassment. Or maybe they are only snapping because they’re “hangry” – they might …

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