The Touro Communication Club Notes - #115 –May 5, 2010
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Seven Heavenly Virtuous Quotes

“Now FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11:1 King James Bible

“HOPE is a thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings in tune without words, and never stops at all.”

Emily Dickinson, 19^th century American poet

CHARITY: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am not for others, what am I?

And if not now, when?”

Rabbi Hillel (30 BCE- 9 CE), Jewish scholar and theologian

“FORTITUDE is the guard and support of the other virtues.”

John Locke, 17^th century English philosopher

“In JUSTICE is all virtues found in sum.”

Aristotle, ancient Greek Philosopher

“TEMPERANCE is simply a disposition of the mind which binds the passions”

St. Thomas Aquinas, 13^th century Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher

PRUDENCE: “Look before you leap.”

Samuel Butler, 19^th century British author

The Touro Communication Club

2 pm - Wednesday, May 5, 2010– Room 223

“The Seven Heavenly Virtues”

Last October, we had a spirited discussion about “The Seven Deadly Sins.” Lest we forget what they are: Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy, and Gluttony.

This week we turn to the Seven Heavenly Virtues: Faith, Hope, Charity, Fortitude, Justice, Temperance, Prudence Originating with the Greeks and codified by the Roman Catholic Church in the Dark Ages, these seven virtues are designed to teach positive lessons about behavior in an unruly world. We’ll explore as many as time allows.”

Logical Fallacy of the Week #6: “The Hasty Generalization”

This logical fallacy is a constant in any discussion – classrooms, barbershops, Communication Club sessions, and all manner of political rhetoric. People use this logical fallacy as a form of proof in defending a position. Inclusive words like “All.” “Most,” “The American people…” are among immediate red flags for this fallacy. No concrete evidence is cited. The statement is thrown into an argument when the speaker feels that his/her position may be weak or about to be challenged.

…The hallmarks of a Hasty Generalization include too small a samples, biased samples and unrepresentative samples. A favorite is “Nine out of ten doctors.” Which doctors? Were they paid to endorse product.

In medicine, often small samples in a research study of a new drug are trumpeted by the pharmaceutical company to “prove” that the drug works. Side effects are minimized. A good case is the catastrophic side effects of Vioxx, one of which was death. This side effect was actually listed on the drug insert before it was withdrawn from the market several years ago.

In politics, a favorite is “The American people’ phrase is used so often to be meaningless. Even generalizations like “Red States” and “Blue States” are suspect.

The old saw, “All generalizations must be tested, included this one” needs to kept in the front of your critical listening tool bag. The style of presentation manifested in a superficially strong, confident voice and physical posture can belie the inadequacy of the statement.

Strategy: Listen carefully for these flags. The Hasty Generalization is designed to masquerade as evidence, but probably is an invention of the politician to make him/herself sound credible.

A Note to Communicators:

The Challenge of the Heavenly Virtues Today

The Seven Heavenly Virtues are: Faith, Hope, Charity, Fortitude, Justice, Temperance and Prudence.

Today we are somewhat embarrassed about mentioning virtues. If we talk about virtues, we are likely to get a snicker or guffaw or a roll of the eyes. We are cynical about virtues. If anything we may associate virtue with chastity.

Any discussion of virtues is out of fashion. We prefer to be shocked at the repeat performance of the immense variety of Seven Deadly Sins we see in the news. We like to say, “Ain’t it awful…” and continue to tell one horror story after another, complaining about what a terrible world we live in. You know the drill: “Now let me tell an even worse story…” A strange form of consensual validation.

The norms today manifested in the media do not endorse speak about virtues. That’s for televangelists. The media reflects the lying, cheating and stealing as the prevailing norm on Wall Street, Main Street and in Washington – and Albany. Positive stories don’t sell.

Some of us are reaching a point of numbness where we prefer to put our heads in the sand and watch Disney movies. We can accept these values in feel good movies like “The Blind Side” and “Invictus.” But when we leave the theatre, these values go back into the closet.

Despite the prevalence of the Seven Deadly Sins, our Western culture still has its opposite in the Seven Heavenly Virtues. If you take the religious context out of these virtues, we recognize they are the principles that under gird every graduation speaker and motivational expert. They may use different language but the concepts are the same. Like the seven sins, the seven virtues are classics – for all time.

The Greek myth of Pandora’s Box captures a positive choice the ancients believed humans should take in the face of the troubles in the world. According to legend, Pandora, the first woman, was curious about the contents of a particular jar which she was forbidden to open. Her curiosity prevailed and, upon opening the jar, all the terrible problems of the world were released. However, underneath all these troubles, she discovered that hope remained.

(An obvious parallel is the Adam and Eve story in the Bible, both of which are much debated in gender discussions of their implied view of women.)

In simplistic terms, we see the concepts operational in the image of a glass half full or half empty. Like love, the perception is in the eyes of the beholder. You can quickly tell the point of view by listening to the language the speaker uses.

The French existentialist author Albert Camus retells the tale of Sisyphus, a hubristic king who has been condemned by Zeus for eternity to push a huge rock up a hill, Mt. Tantalus. Near the top, he is “tantalized” by his predicament. Sisyphus watches helplessly as the rock rolls to the bottom. He must begin all over again. For Camus the existentialist, the very act of pushing the rock up the hill is the repetitious and onerous act that holds out the possibility of hope that might transcend the difficulties of the world. We must act to live, to exist, despite its difficulties, Camus argues.

So, for me, despite the media reality that negatives sell and much of our experience can be negative, the Seven Heavenly Virtues, in some form, are those principles which allow us to thrive, to prevail. They allow us to keep our eyes on the prize.

UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:

May 12. 2010 -“Distractions” We are bombarded with some 2 billion stimuli each day. Until recently, people seem to be able to juggle the external “noise” and the internal “noise.” But recently many of us are on stimulus overload. We cannot concentrate. We cannot focus. Our minds wander. We are glued to our BlackBerrys wherever we are. We seem to be reduced to Pavlovian dogs responding to stimuli that we cannot or choose not to control. We seem to have become a nation of ADD people. Lots of opinions here. Perhaps even a case or two of denial?

May 19, 2010 – School is closed.

May 28, 2010 – “Negotiation” Using material from his Intercultural Communication course, Professor George Backinoff will creating a role play or two to demonstrate the negotiation strategies required in an intercultural transaction. Ultimately, all communication is intercultural to some degree because we carry our cultures with us all the time.

June 2, 2010 – Dean Kampel and Dr. Sabra Brock continue their discussion on Leadership and how women’s leadership style differs from that of men’s. More to come.

What about one of these topics?

“Rodney King: ‘Why Can’t We Get Along?”

“Repetition”

“Meaning”

“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”

“Heroism”

“Concentration”

“Coping with Adversity”

Student Poetry showcase

“Empathy”

“Imagination”

“Connecting the Dots”

Role play of cynical people

“Cold Calling in Sales”

“He’s Just Not That into You”

“Money”

“Criticizing – Giving and Receiving”

“Freedom II”

“Gender Communication II”

And dozens of others!

Compare the notice of the session with what really happened!

What happened on Wednesday, April 28, 2010?

“Freedom”

We have grown up in America believing that freedom is precious. We believe we are not bound by the political limits of other countries. The American Dream says you can achieve anything you want. Should everything be “laissez-faire”? Does freedom equal license? Are there any limits on that freedom? Can we yell “Fire!” in a theatre? What kind of government should exist in a “free” society? We should have another interesting exchange this week!

Although there was one newcomer, Al Walker from the DMX program, who was an animated presence during the discussion. Familiar faces included Richard Green, Ronald Johnson, Carlisle Yearwood, Gary Sheinfeld, Charles Mason, Markus Vyandorf, Jermaine Nurse, Lorinda Moor, Michael Mattocks and Hal Wicke.

Hal asked for some definitions of “freedom.”

· Realization of limitations.

· Freedom is a relative term.

· The right to express yourself.

· Ignorance of freedom is bliss.

· Freedom is the intersection and overlap of two or more forces or ideas.

· Freedom is the absence of bondage.

· What does “absence” mean? Not present.

· I must be free myself from bondage

· “Marriage is bondage.”

· One member of the group is engaged to be married.

· Anything that holds you back

· Bondage is limitations.

· If you choose to marriage, it is not bondage.

· Gary offered Nietzsche’s comment, “Freedom is not “from” but freedom “for.”

· Discussion requires information, you must give up something.

· Gary’s comment” “Do you want to discuss the depth or scope of “women”?

· The 20^th century French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre, was very concerned about freedom.

· Once we make a choice, we are committed, but many people don’t like commitment.

· Can you be free inside a jail?

· Understanding should always flow top downward.

· Marriage is a union which grows together.

· If you have all the information, it’s not a decision.

· A child has no limitations.

· We are all limited.

· Limitations are bondage.

· Learn to move together.

· We are subject to the rules of society. [What about the rules of the world? – Gravity, weather, etc.?)

· Freedom is in the eyes of the beholder – like love.

· Freedom is knowing the difference between wants and needs.

· The phenomenon of “The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.”

· Arizona’s new immigration law. inhibits freedom, promotes racial profiling.

· What about “white privilege”?

· Richard Green cited FDR’s 4 Freedoms speech

Are we free in class?

· We are subject to the biases, ideology and prejudices of the professor.

· “I’m here to learn. I don’t care about the biases of the professor.”

· There are biases in all lessons.

· Can we overcome them?

· Challenge the professor by knowing the information by asking questions, repeating for clarification, by paraphrasing

Who’s in charge of freedom? You are. Who takes away freedom? You do.

The time was getting late and, as usual, we barely scratched the surface of the topic. Those who remained that we should revisit it again.

Markus wrote out a statement which Hal asked to include in this summary. Markus writes, “Freedom and limitations are relative. A balance of life is taking the good and the bad. Understanding this enhances the beauty of [your] view.”

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We always have a great time exploring these issues. So often our daily life never focuses on these Communication issues. If you have something you want us to discuss please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.

Next time bring a friend. The Communication Club is always an open discussion, limited only by time. Everyone gets a chance to speak. All opinions are welcome. Here is an opportunity for students to challenge professors’ views outside the class without any homework or assignments. You just have to show up and listen and talk if you want.

Hal Wicke