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The Importance Of Socratic Dialogue

Decent Essays

I’ve always believed that it’s important to keep an open mind when engaging with others, but that sentiment is often misinterpreted to mean that a person should be open to accepting any view differing from their own, which would do more harm than good. Violence has always been prevalent in our world, from the American revolution in the 1700s to the neo-Nazis rallying in our streets as we live and breath. While one might think that accepting everyone’s differing views will bring people together, and lessen the amount of violence in the world, I’m inclined to disagree. In resetting our society, it is essential to acknowledge and respect differing identities and ways of looking at the world, but only when those differences don’t disrespect …show more content…

If we want to rebuild society, hate speech should never be tolerated. That’s not to say everyone who’s ever said something harmful can’t learn, but when statements like “I hate lesbians” or “I hate people of color” leave someone’s mouth, our reactions shouldn’t be, “I respect your opinion, but…”, our reaction should be to immediately express that language like that is unacceptable. Words are violent in their own right, and excusing hate speech excuses the violence it causes.

Taking our dialogue further, engaging in Martin Buber’s “I-Thou” form of communication is a necessary tool in the recreation of our society. However, I think there are times when Buber’s proposed “I-It” can be just as crucial. Seeing people as whole is important, and absolutely essential in understanding one another, but if someone is racist, for example, they don’t deserve to be seen as a whole person. Engaging racists as “I-It”, and seeing them only as a racist, holds them accountable. It shouldn’t be, “This person is racist, but they’re still a nice person.” It doesn’t matter how nice they seem when their beliefs actively put the lives of others in danger. On the other hand, while “I-It” communication holds it’s own value, we should be conscious when we engage others with it, because most often, we unconsciously view people as their accomplishments and belongings, and this leads to the opposite of what we

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