Topics Language

Question I'm not sure is this is a philosophical question or a linguistics question but what's the difference between "agree" and "strongly agree?" In my mind, if you agree with a statement or disagree with it, that's the end of it. I think agree or disagree are absolutes so to add an adverbial quantifier is not necessary. How can you 'agree more' with something after you already agree with it? Or, for example, say we both disagree about something. It's not possible for me to disagree 'more' than you. I see this kind of choice on those psych tests employers like to give to candidates. I don't think I've ever 'passed' one of those tests because of my problem with this choice. So is it just semantics? Please help. Confused in Lakeland, FL

Accepted:
December 24, 2010

Comments

An interesting puzzle. Here's at least one possible explanation. There are some things I agree with, but I can fairly easily imagine changing my mind. In cases, this possibility seems much more remote.

For example: suppose my department is deciding between two job candidates, Jimenez and Grabowski. A colleague makes her case for hiring Jimenez. I think about it and say "I agree." And I really do. But the idea that someone might go for Grabowski doesn't seem crazy to me, and I can imagine that a conversation with another colleague might persuade me to re-think.

However, we can imagine another case: the choice is between Abel and Zed and it's not just that I believe Abel to be the better candidate; it's that there just seems to me to be no contest: Abel is so clearly better than Zed that there's no room for reasonable disagreement. I don't just agree that we should offer the job to Abel; I strongly agree.

The general point is that we believe the things we believe to varying degrees. If we're reasonable, we see ourselves as fallible and our beliefs as open to revision. But some beliefs are less readily open to revision than others. We believe those things more strongly, and when we meet someone with a like mind on the matter, we strongly agree.