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CSUDH - Habermas - UWP

California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: October 22, 2001
Latest Update: October 22, 2001
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu
Olivier Urbain, Soka University

"Fellman, when speaking of adversarialism says desires for justice, safety, and nonexploitation are sacrificed for victory."

Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors: October 2001.
"Fair use" encouraged.

On Monday, October 22, 2001, Nichole Williams, CSUDH, wrote:

Subject: Reaction to our war

Jeanne,

I really like Gordon Fellman's quote "we do not live in reality;we live in our paradigms, our habituated perceptions, our illusions; the illusions we share through culture we call reality..."(pg. 227). I think we can relate this to our present war. America knows for a fact that it is right and anyone who has a difference of opinion is wrong. Anyone who opposes us is our enemy. Our President and our government are taking such an adversarial approach to this war that it makes me sick. Bush makes it seem like some type of competition. I think I can speak for most Americans when I say I'm scared. I remember at the beginning of this war Bush saying we were going to have to make a lot of sacrifices. Fellman, when speaking of adversarialism says desires for justice, safety, and nonexploitation are sacrificed for victory. This conflict is so adversarial because we just want to overcome and defeat them.

If we shift to mutuality we can explore their different views and try understanding them. We don't know their experiences; their reality. We should listen and absorb their feelings and viewpoints. Fellman believes we should bring out the mutualistic tendencies in everyone, so as in the more adversarial types, to suggest choices and balances where mutuality might be expressed. If we can do this with the Taliban, maybe we can find a better solution than bombings and killings. Someone should be giving Bush intellectual reasoning; someone who will stand there and offer the other side. Someone to challenge all of Congress' ideas and won't stop until they have considered the opposition.

Nichole Williams

On Monday, October 22, 2001, jeanne responded:

Good point, Nichole. I agree that we need someone standing alongside Bush and the Legislature who "won't stop until they have considered the opposition." That's what Edward M. Said callls a public intellectual: someone who won't back down before the dominant discourse, but insists on calling the issue as he/she sees it.

I was particularly impressed with the quote you used of Fellman's: "we do not live in reality;we live in our paradigms, our habituated perceptions, our illusions; the illusions we share through culture we call reality..."(pg. 227). And I liked the way you tied the argument up with: "Fellman, when speaking of adversarialism says desires for justice, safety, and nonexploitation are sacrificed for victory." Excellent work.

love and peace, jeanne

On Tuesday, October 23, 2001, Susan responded:

Subject: adversar04.htm

was reading this file and found it interesting that nichole williams pulled this quote because i used it as a midterm study question for those students in my race, crime, law class.

Race, Crime & Law (CRMJ/SOCA 490): Question 3. Scroll about 4/5 of the way down the file.

susan

On Tuesday, October 23, 2001, jeanne responded:

Cool. Either that's a wonderful coincidence, or one of our kids has figured out to check out both our courses. I'll remind Nichole that she should credit the quote to your mid-term study questions, if she really did use them. I'll bet she didn't. I can't imagine that our kids have become that sophisticated. But how neat if they have!

love and peace, jeanne