The Nugget—April 11, 2017
Civility and Socrates
Enjoy this Guest Column by C4C Board Member Bruce Rognlien HERE>>
FROM THE COLUMN:
I am involved with the Citizens4Civility (C4C) non-profit here in Sisters Country. For about 18 months we have been hosting quarterly Civility Project/Speak Your Peace meetings to share ideas and techniques for how we can all be more respectful with each other. We have been focusing on nine core tenets of civility.
I've noticed the word "civility" sometimes gets a bad rap as an antiquated, puritanical or heavy-handed concept - one that will quash debate or somehow curtail the human spirit. In today's culture it's often considered more "cool" (and entertaining) to be an impassioned disrupter or sarcastic critic.
Throughout history, though, civil discourse has been considered very hip by many leaders and scholarly thinkers. Included among these is the 5th century B.C. philosopher Socrates. The "Socratic Method" named for him argues that disciplined, civil discussion (i.e., civility) is key to productive debates; and this type of communication enhances understanding and advances - rather than curtails - the human spirit.
Wikipedia defines the Socratic Method as: "a cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and draw out ideas and underlying presumptions." …. (continue reading HERE>>)