> Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 14:30:00 -0500
> From: "Kerr, Donald" <Donald.Kerr@usahq.unitedspacealliance.com>
<<<< some stuff deleted here >>>>
> I'd like to explore further your proposed alternative to judgement of
> right/wrong..."to just study events, rather than right or wrong events".
> I agree this is not an easy thing to do. My question is: is it possible?
>
> When I read your post, my first reaction was, Yes! Ivan is right!
> Labeling,classifying or separating things, people or events into a
> right/wrong adversarial relationship is limiting to our capacity to create
> and solve problems. (That is why the political debates are so frustrating
> to me). I have been advocating this view (even though my church would
> nail me to a cross if they knew...shh). One of the disciplines we are
> challenged to master is balancing advocacy with inquiry. This implies
> that there will always be a right/wrong bias or leaps we need to somehow
> suspend. Is it possible to be free from judgement of right/wrong? How do
> I come to the place where I can study events without breaking them into
> biased parts? The very fact that I have separated myself from the event
> in studying it, is already biased. How can I escape?
>
> Does it not depend on whether I'm giving myself to the study of the
> meaning of the event or whether I'm studying the event to achieve some
> purposeful action? I can study a presidential debate looking at the
> meaning flowing through it and suspend my assumptions and learn, but If I
> need to take action as the President I must make a decision, which
> requires judgement of right/wrong. Or does it? Does civilization depend
> on judgement of right/wrong? Does all decision making depend on
> judgement?
>
> I may have gotten of track, but could you please explain how I take events
> simply as given...not right or wrong? How do I just study events?
>
> Thanks for your help.
I don't know if I will be of any help, but here it goes. This has
cost me a lot of effort and many years of observation and reflection of
relationships of all kind. One of the major contributing factors has been
the relationships between family members, when I would find myself in the
middle of two or more family members' fight. Also what I am saying here
does not mean that practice it all the time. It is hard.
I think that most of the mistakes one makes are somewhat based on
the right/wrong prejudgement. When one sees an event or situation with
that preconceived notion of righ or wrong, one see only a part of the
whole. SO one cannot really make a sound decision. Seeing right or wrong
keeps us from knowing and understanding the reasons that might explain the
event from both sides. One generally sees only the reasons that support
the side one takes.
What it takes to see the whole is to hold judgement on th eevent
until that time when we have seen the reasons for both sides, or even if
have a preconceived notion of right and wrong, then we should still strive
to see both sides. There are a number of experiential exercises in
conflict resolutioon and other areas that facilitate this process. If you
are in favor of something, or if you see an event in positive way, take
the other side to see how others (with opposite view of the same thing)
see it. Try to understand their reasons for seeing it that way. The we
might be able to see the whole event and noy just the part we want to see.
Did it help?
-- Ivan,
--*************************************************************** R. IVAN BLANCO, Ph.D. Voice 305 899-3515 Assoc. Prof. & Director Fax 305 892-6412 International Business Programs Andreas School of Business _________E-Mail Addresses________ Barry University Bitnet: Blanco%bu4090@Barryu Miami Shores, FL 33161-6695 Internet: Blanco@bu4090.barry.edu <<<<< ---------------- >>>>> "Si un hombre fuera necesario para sostener el Estado, este Estado no deberia existir." "If one man were necessary to sustain a Nation, this Nation should not exist." Simon Bolivar ===============================================================
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