Maybe I have been attending too many holiday receptions, but conversations
seem to be of the following:
"Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence
of a witness." (Margaret Millar)
"There is no such thing as conversation. It is an illusion. There are
only intersecting monologues." (Rebecca West)
Arthur
-----Original Message-----
From: Brian McAndrews [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 12:32 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: how about a new language game?
It occurred to me after Ray put Arthur in check and Arthur
responded by giving up that we might forget chess for a while and try
something different. I suggest we try to have a conversation over the
holidays and see where that takes us. The 'rules' are quite simple
and can lead to interesting results. I borrow the rules from R. S.
Peters, a philosopher who taught at the University of London
Institute of Education. As a student Peters was tutored for a while
by George Orwell.
>Conversation is not structured like a discussion group in terms of
>one form of thought, or toward the solution of a problem. In a
>conversation lecturing to others is bad form; so is using the
>remarks of others as springboards for self-display. The point is to
>create a common world to which all bring their distinctive
>contributions. By participating in such a shared experience much is
>learnt, though no one sets out to teach anyone anything. And one of
>the things that is learnt is to see the world from the viewpoint of
>another whose perspective is very different.
>
> (R.S. Peters, (1968). What is an educational process? In R.S.
>Peters (Ed.). The Concept of Education. London: Routledge and
>Kegan Paul
In some of my classes we have long and fruitful conversations simply
by starting with a favourite quote that someone volunteers. For
example:
>Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime;
>therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or
>beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of
>history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however
>virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love.
>No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our
>friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we are saved
>by the final form of love which is forgiveness.
>
> Reinhold Niebhur, The Irony of American History, pg 63
Happy winter or summer solstice depending on your world view,
Brian McAndrews
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* Faculty of Education, Queen's University *
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