On Mon, 11 Sep 1995, Bill Mitchell wrote:
> > 3) Everyone's contribution is worthy of attention.
>
> I did not state it though I certainly believe it. Thanks!
>
> The following is from a personal response from Tobin to myself. I include
> ot to keep you all up to date.
>
> > 2) We have different assumptions about what is important and we
> > need to explore the assumptions so that we can all learn and grow
> > together.
> >
>
> I would agree that differing perspectives are important and we consider
> them in evaluating the options. I am not clear on how they relate to
> dialogue. I could see a different perspective being expressed through a
> different assumption. (Ex. I think the customer would prefer to do it this
> way.) Or I could see it being expressed through a difference in material
> fact. (Ex. I think that the estimate is too low.) But how else would I
> express a "perspective" in a dialogue?
My use of "perspective" is not quite the same as "assumption" though I
don't claim precision on either of them. I use the term perspective to
indicate that which one readily perceives and can express as relevant
information about the issues or one's relationship to them. "Assumptions"
to my way of thinking are the underlying and mostly unexpressed filters or
"rules" that affect what is _available_ for perception. Believing is
seeing more often than the reverse in my experience (one example of an
"assumption" which affects my perception, I'm sure!). In any case, both
assumptions and perspectives seem worthy of examination.
One way to find out if there is a difference would be to experiment with
having the group surface each of them at different times and see if the
results exhibit any "differences that make a difference." It could be that
one term rather than the other will "work" more readily with different
people.
> Maybe I am using the word "assumption" as a broader concept then is
> commonly understood. I think of the word "assumption" to include those
> concepts that guide my thought process but which are not normally capable
> of being explicitly stated. Through dialogue and thought I can explicitly
> state them and examine them. Belief = collection of assumptions.
> Perspective = collection of assumptions.
I would be interested to know if you try the experiment I mentioned. The
results would be useful information for my own learning whatever the
outcomes are.
Good learning,
-- Tobin quereau@austin.cc.tx.us