Praxis Speaks

Do you remember the last time you got into an argument with someone? Chances are you do because typically when we disagree with someone it tends to stick with us because of one simple reason alone: the other person was acting irrationally, right?  Have you ever walked away from an argument with one of your peers or friends thinking, “How can he possibly think that way or hold that opinion?”  One prominent psychologist has studied this very concept and formulated a theory that describes how and why people develop the opinions that they do.  Chris Argyris of Harvard University developed what he calls “The Ladder of Inference” which essentially attempts conceptualize the pattern of human beings’ thoughts and actions.  It consists of seven “rungs” which become progressively more subjective as one is exposed to more and more experiences over time.  We naturally filter out things in the “real” world that do not reinforce our assumptions and beliefs about the nature of our world.  At the top of the ladder are our actions which are solely a result of our a posteriori knowledge which, of course, has been continuously filtered over the years.  The result is what we know as opinions and are often a cause of conflict in our relationships.  The point then is that we can do little to shape the opinions of others in the context of deeply held beliefs, but we can understand why other people may hold different viewpoints than us.  More importantly, we can develop a sense of self-awareness about our own dogmatic views of the world and embrace them. At the same time we can open ourselves to the notion that our own perceptions as well as the perceptions of others are more of a subconscious reaction to the stimuli around us and not a personal attack on character.–Brooks Barton