How do we arrive at truth?
By Stuart A. Umpleby, Professor Emeritus of Management, George Washington University, Washington, DC
Recently, in a Forum message, there was a quote from J. Edgar Hoover, founder of the FBI, "I never met a criminal who was not a liar." Lately, there has been a lot of lying in American political discourse. Have we come to accept it, under the guise of "balance" perhaps?
How do we arrive at truth? Two key methods are science and law:
1. Scientists conduct experiments to compare beliefs with objective observations. This works well in the natural sciences, enabling technical progress.
2. Law does not claim truth but establishes procedures for appealing judgments so they can be considered further. It creates "authoritative decisions" that can later be challenged by legislative executive, or judicial decisions. Hence, the legal process delays and draws out decisions so additional points of view can become involved. This is an inherently conservative process which creates stability while enabling some change.
3. We now have a multitude of decision-makng methods: Roberts' Rules of Order, Cycle of Intelligence, Participatory Strategic Planning, Appreciative Inquiry, etc. For a compilation see The Change Handbook. These methods enable a group of people with a shared purpose to engage in a protracted conversation to consider goals and means and decide upon a course of action, which can be reconsidered months or years later. These methods are increasingly widely used in business, government, and NGOs in countries around the world.
If the problem we are facing is polarization, one solution is more participatory conversations: 1. choose a method, 2. use the method to create plans, 3. Implement the plans, 4. reflect on the results, 5. repeat.
Stuart A. Umpleby, Professor Emeritus of Management, George Washington University, Washington, DC; Home: P.O. Box 373, Nellysford, VA 22958, 571-305-0085.
A recent article: Umpleby, Stuart. “Expanding Science and Advancing Reflexive Government: Two Current Projects in Cybernetics” (Paper)http://blogs.gwu.edu/umpleby