Agree to disagree
Encyclopedia
The term "agree to disagree" or "agreeing to disagree" is a phrase
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....

 in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 referring to the resolution of a conflict (usually a debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...

 or quarrel) whereby all parties tolerate but do not accept the opposing position(s). It generally occurs when all sides recognise that further conflict would be unnecessary, ineffective or otherwise undesirable. They may also remain on amicable terms while continuing to disagree about the unresolved issues.

The phrase "agree to disagree" first appeared in print in 1770 when, at the death of George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...

, John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...

 wrote a memorial sermon which acknowledged, but downplayed, the two men's doctrinal differences:
"There are many doctrines of a less essential nature ... In these we may think and let think; we may 'agree to disagree.' But, meantime, let us hold fast the essentials..."

Wesley was the first to put the phrase 'agree to disagree' in print.

The phrase "agree to differ" appeared in 1785; its advantage over "agree to disagree" is that it does not pose an apparent logical contradiction
Contradiction
In classical logic, a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility between two or more propositions. It occurs when the propositions, taken together, yield two conclusions which form the logical, usually opposite inversions of each other...

. Game theorist
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...

 and mathematician Robert Aumann
Robert Aumann
Robert John Aumann is an Israeli-American mathematician and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. He is a professor at the Center for the Study of Rationality in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel...

 argues that two people with common prior probability
Prior probability
In Bayesian statistical inference, a prior probability distribution, often called simply the prior, of an uncertain quantity p is the probability distribution that would express one's uncertainty about p before the "data"...

 cannot agree to disagree. However, the issues of agreement and disagreement are about separate concerns. Hence, the phrase is not actually a contradiction, when the implied parts are inserted: "agree [in principle] to disagree [about other issues]". The wording can be considered as a form of elliptical phrase, where the omitted portions, as two separate concerns, will help to clarify the intended meaning of the short phrase. The agreement is a long-term strategy, as a shared viewpoint of the opposing sides, to leave the disagreement, about the other issues, as an unresolved matter.

Economist Frank J. Fabozzi argues that it is not rational for investors to agree to disagree; they must work toward consensus, even if they have different information. For financial investments, Fabozzi posits that an investor's overconfidence in his abilities (irrationality) can lead to "agreeing to disagree"—the investor thinks he is smarter than others.

A related phrase, normally reserved for informal and temporary arrangements in political affairs, is the Latin phrase "modus vivendi
Modus vivendi
Modus vivendi is a Latin phrase signifying an agreement between those whose opinions differ, such that they agree to disagree.Modus means mode, way. Vivendi means of living. Together, way of living, implies an accommodation between disputing parties to allow life to go on. It usually describes...

" (literally, "way of living"), and it is used in the same manner as "agree to disagree". However, it can be viewed as a thought-terminating cliché in certain circumstances.

See also

  • Aumann's agreement theorem
    Aumann's agreement theorem
    Aumann's agreement theorem says that two people acting rationally and with common knowledge of each other's beliefs cannot agree to disagree...

  • Conflict resolution
    Conflict resolution
    Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...

  • Consensus
  • Peaceful coexistence
    Peaceful coexistence
    Peaceful coexistence was a theory developed and applied by the Soviet Union at various points during the Cold War in the context of its ostensibly Marxist–Leninist foreign policy and was adopted by Soviet-influenced "Communist states" that they could peacefully coexist with the capitalist bloc...

  • Cultural pluralism
    Cultural pluralism
    Cultural pluralism is a term used when smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities, and their values and practices are accepted by the wider culture. Cultural pluralism is often confused with Multiculturalism...

  • Value pluralism
  • Pluralism (political philosophy)
  • Pluralism (epistemology)
  • Modus vivendi
    Modus vivendi
    Modus vivendi is a Latin phrase signifying an agreement between those whose opinions differ, such that they agree to disagree.Modus means mode, way. Vivendi means of living. Together, way of living, implies an accommodation between disputing parties to allow life to go on. It usually describes...

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