Here’s one thing I will presume that we can all agree upon: every single one of us likes to have our views, positions, arguments and preferences confirmed by others. (If you don’t, then those aren’t your views, positions, arguments or preferences in any really defensible sense, are they?) Of course, because we live in a world with other (in Kierkegaard’s formulation) “actually existing individuals”– each of whom have their own semi-idiosyncratically reflective views, positions, arguments and reflections– this makes the presumption of agreement, not to mention the actual achievement of such, nigh near impossible. For all the lauding of the so-called “marketplace of ideas,” in which the best ideas would effectively demand/necessitate universal consent, anyone with a diverse group of friends (or an Internet connection) knows that seeking unqualified confirmation of one’s views is a hard road to hoe.