As I have been saying for quite a while now, many practitioners of conflict resolution are using last-century knowledge—today; the majority of practitioners have not yet utilized or even learned all the new information we have at our finger tips to improve the process of resolving disputes. When I listened to an interview held this week of Dr. Norman Doidge, I was reminded of the great leap science has made recently in knowledge about the brain and of that leap's far-reaching implications.
Listen in . . . Doidge, author of The Brain That Changes Itself, and the interviewer Kerry O'Brien are discussing neuroplasticity and then have this exchange:
NORMAN DOIDGE: It's extraordinary. The brain's the command centre of the human being, and every human activity emerges from the brain. And when we have a radical paradigm shift in understanding of the brain, every human activity is affected: education, all kinds of learning, and all kinds of medicine, neurology, and psychiatry. But, any kind of training, learning to play a musical instrument, the military, sports, our understanding of the humanities, and, especially our understanding of culture, all has to be re-examined.
Every human activity is affected, including, of course, mediation, negotiation, all processes of conflict resolution. That reexamination is why I started this blog. Isn't it exciting to be a part of this radical shift? Don't let complacency prevent you from advancing into the 21st century. And from practicing in ways that are mind-based and brain-based.
Note (added September 13, 2008, 10:50 AM Mountain): For an even more recent interview of Dr. Doidge, click on over to my post Neuromediators: Understanding the brain is a critical key to resolving conflict (both within a culture and between cultures).
Image credit: blv-r.
Comments