Confrontation or conciliation: Does science have the answer?

• Main Author: ALEXANDER, Nadja
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2012
• Subjects: Dispute Resolution and Arbitration; Science and Technology Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2194; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/4146/viewcontent/confrontation.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In this post I want to talk about an important thread that is emerging in the science of the twenty-first century. It is the finding that we are all interconnected, that we are porous beings with the ability to influence not only ourselves but one another in ways not previously contemplated. What we previously knew as real, that is the Cartesian duality of mind and body and the notion of separateness in relation to individuals and objects, is a fast-fading myth (Damasio 1994, 1999, BenZion 2010).This new paradigm for understanding and experiencing the world has profound implications for our approach to conflict. It suggests that how we think can influence the development and life cycle of a dispute. In other words, attitude affects outcome. In this context neuroscientists and others are exploring the pivotal role of emotional and social intelligences in decision-making, negotiation and conflict resolution (Goleman 2011).These scientific findings offer each and every one of us valuable insights into how our thoughts, feelings and behaviour can directly shape how we and others handle disputes and the ultimate outcome of those disputes. Science also suggests reasons why a conciliatory approach to conflict might be more effective than a confrontational one — essential grist for the mediator mill.