Minds Almost Meeting Can We Change Values? (Robin Hanson & Agnes Callard)
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Feb 1, 2026 
Robin Hanson, economist known for work on prediction markets and cultural evolution, debates whether we can doubt or change our values. Short, lively back-and-forth on if consistency can test values. They contrast doubt as truth-seeking versus aspirational growth. They explore agency, methods for changing values, and vivid personal examples of shifting priorities.
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Mind Stuff Is Largely Unvetted
- Much of what is in your head was acquired quickly and sloppily during life, so you should be open to reconsidering it.
- Beliefs have established doubt-tools (evidence, coherence) while values may lack analogous tools for revision.
Values As Disposition Bundles
- A value can be seen as a bundle of dispositions: cognitive beliefs, motivational desires, and emotional reactions.
- That composition explains why doubting values differs from doubting beliefs because only the cognitive part maps cleanly to truth-evaluation.
Doubt Removes; Aspiration Adds
- 'Doubting' (for beliefs) is a negative, truth-focused activity that weeds out falsehoods.
- Changing values often involves adding fuller appreciation, not only subtracting mistaken elements.