Friday, November 11, 2011

Nonviolent Communication

*As understood by Nietzsche

I've been thinking about Nietzsche's notion of slave morality recently, and its applications to the method of nonviolent communication. This form of communication first advocates the need to take responsibility for actions. Thus, a teacher who has to give grades cannot blame it on "district policy" but instead must accept it as her method of maintaining a job. This is important, because we are dangerous when we are not aware of our responsibility for how we behave. This form of thinking alienates us from our lives - and leaves us with a false notion of slavery.
Our language reinforces this attempt to alienate the self from life. We are raised with the concept that certain actions deserve reward and others deserve punishment. This word, deserve, assumes a wrongness in people, which progresses into a need to label and compare. We then find ourselves in the midst of a society which demands and pronounces judgements on individuals rather than recognizing the feelings of the self. This communication alienates us further from our present life. We learn early on to cut ourselves off from the conflicting views and beliefs internalized in our self.
This communication supports a society based on domination, where the few control the many. While most of us would recognize this in periods of post-colonization, it is imperative that we recognize its existence in society today. This form of societal belief benefits not only kings and Czars, but also religious leaders. The language of wrongness educates the masses in such a way as to render them immobile and slave-like in mentality. Thus, moral codes can be shoved upon them with ease. And, as people are trained to think of moralistic judgements as those which imply wrongness, the less likely they are to escape.
We continue our existence as slaves, looking outside the self for moral guidance. However, when we establish contact with our feelings and needs, we can escape this faulty form of existence. We can recognize our need to communicate and discuss, and then learn how to do this effectively - in such a way that sidesteps this trained alienation, and embraces compassion.
This way of thinking is an important step to achieving the ability to communicate in a manner that does not physically or mentally harm. Upon reflection, this process seems similar to Nietzsche's philosophical view, and might embrace his ideal form of life. Would you say that this is a correct connection to make, or is there a nuance that creates a gap between these philosophies?

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