The book "The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook" says:
"The theory of dialogue suggests that breakdowns in the effectiveness of teams and organizations (governments??) are reflective of a broader crisis in the nature of how human beings perceive the world. As a natural mechanism to develop meaning, people learn to divide the world into categories and distinctions in our thoughts. We then tend to become almost hypnotised by these distinctions, forgetting that we created them. “The economy is falling apart,” or “The people are corrupt,” becomes our reality, with a seemingly independent power over us."
One of the problems that I see coming from this "fragmentation of thought" is that it holds us prisoner and manifests itself via a lack of creativity. Creativity is a skill that is often called upon when trying to solve complex problems.
"As one author (Bohm) has suggested, fragmentation of thought is like a virus that has infected every field of human endeavour. Specialists in most fields cannot talk across specialities. Marketing sees production as the problem. Managers are told to “think” while workers are told to “act.” Instead of reasoning together, people defend their “part,” seeking to defeat others. If fragmentation is a condition of our times, then dialogue is one tentatively proven strategy for stepping back from the way of thinking which fragmentation produces.
How many times have you been in a discussion where people defend their stance without attempting to understand the other person's reasoning or thinking? I'm not saying people need to agree but making ourselves a little vulnerable in a debate can open up effective dialogue where creativity and good ideas can form. If only they'd do this while running the country.
