ABSTRACT
Understanding demands effort. Even in an age of increased mass communication when it is relatively simple to share ideas and perspectives it is not always easy to interpret the meaning of the messages we receive. Indeed, although we live in the ‘information age’, there is probably a greater risk of misinterpretation of the world and its phenomena than at any time in our history. It is tempting to believe that our own perceptions are a fair reflection of the society in which we live, whereas in reality we are limited by our experiences and the narrow confines of our daily lives. In order to ensure that we have an opportunity to understand the world around us we must develop and accrue knowledge on the basis of listening to those whose experiences and lives may differ considerably from our own and respecting their interpretations of the society which we share. Martha Nussbaum has stated the situation and the challenges which face those of us who are attempting to understand changes in the world concisely:
People from diverse backgrounds sometimes have difficulty recognising one another as fellow citizens in the community of reason. This is so, frequently because actions and motives require, and do not always receive, a patient effort of interpretation.
