Mindful of Cultures and Conflicts - Hardcover

by Jacques L. Koko (Author)

By means of fictional characters, this book suggests that the mindfulness of cultural diversity launches people's awareness of other cultures. The mindfulness of cultural diversity enables cultural open-mindedness. Cultural open-mindedness helps transcend the barriers of cultural close-mindedness, and it predisposes one to conflict prevention, conflict transformation, and peacemaking. Cultural open-mindedness uplifts the self by awakening positive attitudes that nurture the spirit of cultural relativism and multiculturalism. Cultural open-mindedness recognizes or celebrates cultural diversity. It creates a cognitive shift that makes you move beyond a cultural isolation or dictatorship; it allows you to accept cultural relativism. Cultural relativism implies cultural uniqueness; it reminds us that every culture is sui generis or unique and relative to some individuals or groups. Cultural relativism does not endorse zero-sum cultural interactions; it does not generate cultural contexts of zero gravity, but it entails that every culture echoes a discontinuous radiation of impactive social energy as in the quantum theory. Cultural relativism challenges the notion of cultural universalism as a utopia or as a myth. Cultural relativism is uplifting, because it shies away from xenophobic attitudes and enables xenophilic behaviors. The acceptance of cultural relativism fosters multiculturalism. The parties' mindfulness of their cultural diversity is a prerequisite for a constructive conflict transformation. The mindfulness of cultural diversity is a helpful step in conflict resolution; it may be an indispensable step in any process of successful peacemaking.