Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: beliefs countered by opposite beliefs

[Hans Tilstra (hanstilstra]

> A digression:  one thing that living in cohousing has taught me in spades
is
> that there is nothing obvious, that everything I believe will countered
with
> someone's opposite belief.  For the most part our beliefs seem to stem
from
> our previous experiences.  I have learned to listen very carefully to
those
> who don't agree with me.  If their experience has led them to a different
> opinion, I want to learn about why, since I clearly haven't experienced
all
> there is.

I find it an interesting digression, as I think we talk about the best way
of achieving cohousers' desire for satisfying conclusions in working through
subjective matters. Here's four choices:

Some threads have focused on finding the one truth (eg. theories of our
biological similarities with animals transferred to human beings, factual
stories of the incidence of people with multiple partnerships). A bit
adult-to-child at times, very informative at other times. Actually, a bit
like this email too.

Next came knowledge as a matter of opinion, in which all positions appeared
equally (in)valid. Lots of CAPITAL LETTERS, statements in "quotations
marks", pointing out how subjective / construed it all is. I experienced
quite a bit of an impasse with those.

I enjoyed the threads that explored the filtering of our perspectives,
assumptions, and methods. I get to know where people are coming from, for
example, how science fiction, (social) work, age or sexual preference
influences one's perspective. Less closure but reconciliating & I-stated
too.

How about the idea that these discussions lead mainly to a better knowledge
of one self in the world? I think this stage is a mixture in which we
integrate fact & filter to create a personal world view, to be better
equipped to handle situations.


from Perry
Hans