Clearly, the emergence of a milieu involving "group-think" would be highly detrimental in any context, damaging our ability to remain aware and accountable regarding our "paradigms of inquiry." As embedded within specific ways of engaging the world"." Fallibilism" (Brian Fay,1996) reconceives objectivity not as an escape from cognitive commitments, but instead in part as the critical recognition of them. Critical recognition""demands [also] that investigators be accountable in the sense of recognizing their"political commitments"the ways their investigations are socially positioned". Self-aware social analyses consequently must include" [not only] that this positionality be acknowledged, but that the voices of excluded others somehow find their way into"reports and analyses."
The choice to remain "mindful" necessarily involves vigilance at both the group and individual levels. A such it requires a willingness to notice when defenses against anxiety are beginning to insinuate themselves into awareness and inquiry. Fay is quite clear regarding what is actually involved in putting concepts, such as "objective inquiry" and "fallibilism" into practice. In discussing the essence of critical intersubjectivity he states,
"Objective inquiry is one in which inquirers"bracket their own perspectives in order to enter sympathetically into the perspectives of rivals and critically examine the perspective which comes most easily to them. "Consequently, objective inquiries must insure collisions between rival perspectives."
Be this as it may, we
tend to have difficulty living up to these ideals in group-life for at least
one simple reason: at some level we recognize that, without our implicit
agreement to "follow the rules" regarding what we may notice and what
we may say - the veneer of consensus in our everyday interactions can easily
peel away. Sooner or later, moments of serious contention will arise. And, when
group coziness breaks down, things can become very tense indeed. At one level
or another we recognize this reality.
Critical thinking and dissent, Goleman asserts, can be antidotes to shared
illusions, ensuring that group schemas will be more in keeping with reality -
or at worst honest mistakes rather than the product of groupthink. "The
healthy alternative, of course, is a group that balances a sense of unity with
an openness to all relevant information - even at the risk of a fracas from
time to time."
Finally, it is useful to remember that "acceptable dissent," is not really dissent at all, for views that are considered "acceptable," will naturally be guided by the group's lacunae and shared schemas. Furthermore, we can expect that actually being the spokesperson for "unacceptable dissent" would be a difficult role indeed.
As already presented - when groupthink is operating each individual in the group feels him- or herself to be under an injunction to avoid making penetrating criticisms that might bring on a clash with fellow members and destroy the unity of the group. Therefore, a willingness to "rock the boat" is an essential quality of all those who would seek to counterbalance the inertial pull of collective denial. However, we need to be aware of another reciprocal reality: while such an individual (or subgroup) may be serving the larger group by bringing into the open those perceptions or facts that have been hidden, these dissenting members can be seen as "deserters" from the group's unspoken norms.
While "leaderless groups" can easily slip into a "tyranny of the majority," it takes a mature,skilled group leader to support and perturb the group into one which can evoke individual and group creativity.
It follows then, that for any collective to move beyond its blind spots and survive the rigors of "truth-telling and hearing," members will need to access resources which can nourish and sustain the group when its natural resistances and inertia come to the fore. Group participants' readiness to consciously cultivate qualities such as fortitude, patience, humility, endurance, persistence, and tolerance will be of immeasurable value.
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