Spirit of Dialogue

Lessons from Faith Traditions in Transforming Conflict

Häftad, Engelska, 2017

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We tend to approach conflict from the perspective of competing interests. A farmer's interest lies in preserving water for crops, while an environmentalist's interest is in using that same water for instream habitats. It's hard to see how these interests intersect. But what if there was a different way to understand each party's needs? Aaron T. Wolf has spent his career mediating such conflicts, both in the U.S. and around the world. He quickly learned that in negotiations, people are not automatons, programed to defend their positions, but are driven by a complicated set of dynamics--from how comfortable (or uncomfortable) the meeting room is to their deepest senses of self. What approach or system of understanding could possibly untangle all these complexities? Wolf's answer may be surprising to Westerners who are accustomed to separating religion from science, rationality from spirituality. Wolf draws lessons from a diversity of faith traditions to transform conflict. True listening, as practiced by Buddhist monks, as opposed to the "active listening" advocated by many mediators, can be the key to calming a colleague's anger.Alignment with an energy beyond oneself, what Christians would call grace, can change self-righteousness into community concern. Shifting the discussion from one about interests to one about common values--both farmers and environmentalists share the value of love of place--can be the starting point for real dialogue. As a scientist, Wolf engages religion not for the purpose of dogma but for the practical process of transformation. Whether atheist or fundamentalist, Muslim or Jewish, Quaker or Hindu, any reader involved in difficult dialogue will find concrete steps towards a meeting of souls.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2017-09-14
Mått152 x 229 x 11 mm
Vikt318 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor224
FörlagPrinceton University Press
ISBN9781610916172

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Referensverk och tvärvetenskap inom Samhälle och politik

Aaron T. Wolf is a Professor of Geography in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. He has acted as a consultant to the World Bank and several international governments and agencies on various aspects of transboundary water resources and dispute resolution. A trained mediator/facilitator, Wolf directs the Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation, through which he has offered workshops, facilitations, and mediations in basins throughout the world.

"Wolf is a heavyweight in the conflict resolution world...The Spirit of Dialogue encapsulates his global approach to transforming conflict developed over 25 years of practice…The text is not dense academic prose littered with formal citations; it is a conversation between Wolf and the reader. If one wonders what it is like to take a course, participate in a workshop, or be 'mediated' by Wolf, they will get a good feel for his mindful and practical approaches in this book."