Having better conversations, according to Umberto Galimberti.
(This is a summarised version of a video by Umberto Galimberti that you can find here. Unfortunately it’s only available in Italian.)
Opinions are hard to dismantle, because they are the structure on which we built our identity. If we let go, we feel like falling down, losing what makes us US.
And even if they protect us, they also prevent us from growing, changing, learning, because they are fixed and have the precise goal of being considered legitimate and right, and excluding the rest.
What is truth, instead? Galimberti says that truth stands on its own, and is proven right with logic. It’s temporary, because it always looks for confutations and new challenges. And it’s wonderfully plastic.
And truth orientates the dialogue to humility, love for knowledge and our interlocutor. Together, we are adding to the truth. We are working for it. Not one against each other, but in collaboration. Always assuming the other knows more.
And this way of approaching reality is the way to acknowledge our history as a set of prejudices. Instead than fighting them, let’s embrace them and take them with us in conversations. It’s the only way to grow and heal.
Empatherapy 