ABSTRACT
The Other is (as I have described earlier) both another place and another subject. It is obviously involved in creative endeavour as is the other. In previous chapters I have discussed the Other in relation to the mOther, the Other of the gaze and the teacher as Other. In this chapter I will discuss the Other in relation to the radical alterity of other subjects, as well as ‘a place’ of radical alterity within ourselves. To do so I will introduce some fundamental concepts from Levinas and eventually contrast these with Mead and Socrates. Further, I will discuss the multicultural classroom as a means of being for the Other in his/her radical alterity and as a source of creativity. Pedagogy largely revolves around interpersonal and intrapersonal relations. While a meeting with the Other can be conducive to creativity, there are certain aspects of the ego’s relations to others which can be counterproductive. A meeting between the ego and the other always involves primary narcissism. The ego responds with attraction and aggressivity to the other, which, according to Lacan, is the foundation of all human relations. At its limit, this aggressivity can spill over into aggression. A classroom always presents its occupants with the challenge of balancing creative and destructive forces when they arise. Hopefully most of the fine tuning of this balance is achieved at the start of the term, but at times it can falter. When it falters on the side of creativity, the class might become a bit unruly, but we generally feel the work which emerges compensates for the turbulence. When the class falters towards aggressivity (or outright aggression) we tend to be a lot less sure as to an interpretation of a positive outcome when the storm is over.
