For centuries cultures have dealt with racism, stereotypes, discrimination, wars, and conflicts. Hence, racial and gender discriminations, violent treatment of Jews in Second World War, terrorism/ peacemakers, etc.
Why do people do this to each other? A question frequently asked by many citizens, and arguments about what’s the origin of our disputes and conflicts are raised in political forums and debates, most importantly between people of different cultures.
Some argue that most disputes and conflicts that exist are the result of cultural differences. The counter argument is that cultural differences are a natural phenomenon, and the result of conflicts goes back to many factors such as greed for power and dominance, struggle for resources, maintaining of status, and other economic and social disputes that develop across time. I would say that along with other reasons that it’s the result of ruptured human interpretation of other cultures. That’s why it is important to study human diversity and intercultural interactions to minimize conflicts and wars.
The individual and state
Every individual is part of an organic whole, in which individuals are born into families that exist in societies governed by the state. However, each country has its own political regime, such as libertarian, authoritarian, communism, or other. All of these political regimes are ideologies formulated across time as a result of colonialism, war, philosophers’ ideas; in other words, culture. Interestingly, all these factors and more are sectors in the human perception.Philosophers like Plato, Machiavelli, and Hegel had a similar perception of the state, which should be in control of individuals in a society by deciding what’s best for its individuals.
All these philosophers came up with ideologies in order to organize their community. According to their perception, absolute control by the state was the right thing to do. For instance, Plato came up with the concept of “philosopher king,” meaning that philosophers and leaders had the right to rule because they are the wise men of the society.
As for Hegel, a German philosopher who influenced Hitler in his ideology “ideational dialectic,” believed that the motor for historical progress is a clash of ideas/ideologies, the thesis and antithesis. Final product of this clash is a synthesis which again develops into thesis and antithesis:
• Capitalism (thesis): free market economy with no government intervention.
• Socialism (antithesis): the government controls the economy.
• Final result (Synthesis): Free market economy with minute government intervention.
These ideologies influenced many events in history which were based on human perception. However, when these ideologies are placed in there wrong context, they will create a misconception and conflict. For example, as Siebert, Peterson, & Schramm argue in their book Four theories of the press, to Hegel freedom is for the individual to know that “he is not free but his actions are determined by history, by society, and above all by absolute idea [ideational dialectic] which finds its highest manifestation in the state”
Schramm et al further argue that Machiavelli, an Italian philosopher who wrote a famous book The Prince, states that security of the state “is achieved by a realistic, no moralistic policy [by the] ruler or the prince.”
Plato, Machiavelli, and Hegel came from an era and place where there cultural background, surroundings, and philosophers’ influence shaped their perception, and helped them in creating the aforementioned ideologies.
Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, both a philosopher and a statesman, would definitely refuse Hegel, Machiavelli, and Plato’s view of freedom. Jefferson believed that an individual citizen can make a mistake in decisions, but a majority can make the right decision without state’s intervention. To Jefferson, quoted in Schramm et al, “the most effective [freedom]… is the freedom of the press. It is therefore the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions.”
Perception and culture
According to Cushner & Brislin in Intercultural interaction: A practical guide, “The process by which we come to believe that there is a right way to think, express ourselves, and act is called socialization.”
Once individuals have been socialized, they are barely conscious that other realities can exist. The result will be the presence of ethnocentrism, the tendency of people to judge others according to their beliefs, and to view their ideas as always right or the correct way to perceive the world. Singer suggests that the higher the similarity of perception the better the communication and vice versa.
According to Marshall Singer, a former professor of international and intercultural affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, humans can never accurately define reality; rather they have perceptions of reality. Yes we all live a reality: Wars, ideas, and people do exist. However, as Singer stated, reality is less important to understand human behavior than are “perceptions of reality.” Alas, humans tend to treat their perception of reality as though it is reality.
Samuel Huntington, a professor of Strategic Studies at Harvard University, concluded in his article that conflicts exist not as a result of economic or ideological division, but rather the great divisions exist because of cultural conflicts between different civilizations.
In Huntington’s article, “Clash of Civilizations,” he states that different civilizations are distinctive from each other by history, linguistic, culture, tradition, and most significantly religion. These differences according to Huntington have created “the most violent conflict.” For instance, the North African immigration to France formed violent conflicts among Frenchmen.
The conflicts between Muslims and Hindus are vicious. In Italy, France, and Germany racism that is increasing along with political violence against Arab and Turkish migrants is becoming extensive. Huntington draws his conclusion from the idea that people have different viewpoints, especially when it comes with the relation between “man and god,” “man and state,” and “individual and the group.”
It’s true that differences exist between different civilizations on various levels: economic, social, and political. Looking at world wars one appreciates the precision of Huntington’s argument. For instance, Hitler’s crimes and control against most European countries were based on his perception that Germany was the Aryan race (master race); Germany to Hitler had the natural right to control the world. Looking at Hitler’s regime type and era one would understand how his concept of Aryan race developed.
Misconceptions
People according to Singer can be, and frequently are, mistaken in the way they identify situations, causes, or intentions. He refers to this as misperception. In the “majority of conflict situations, neither party really knows what … they are fighting over because the misperceptions tend to obscure everything else.” For example, for years the former Soviets and Americans in the 1980’s were criticizing each other’s regime or ideology.
On an academic level, Thomas J. Scott, a teacher of international studies at Rosemont High School and adjunct professor of education at St. Mary’s University, argues in his article titled Student Perceptions of the
Developing World: Minimizing Stereotypes of the Other that knowledge and education are effective tools in enlightening students about other cultures. For us to effectively communicate with cultural differences, understand “the other,” and “respond to global problems,” we have to familiarize ourselves with cultural diversity.
Scott examined high school students’ perception toward developing countries by showing them “photographic images of exotic cultures,” and later on discusses the results of their perception towards the images. According to the photographic images results, the author divided students’ perception into three categories to briefly elaborate how collective students based their perception on things.
Ethnocentric perceptions illustrate students who view the United States as having “superiority” over the developing countries. Neutral perceptions illustrate students who drew “factual information” of what they observed, but identified it in terms of differences between United States and developing countries, “without applying a value to the people or the conditions in which they lived.” Finally relativist perceptions illustrate students whose perception was changed to positive views toward the developing world, they tend to develop “a sense of respect for cultural diversity.”
Coexistence
Finally, Edward Said, a former professor at Columbia University in English and Comparative Literature, ends his article Uses of Culture, by stating that the objective of perception is to discover how to bridge the gap between different traditions, peoples, and historical stages. To Said “Every identity is a construction, a composite of different histories, migrations, conquest, liberations, and so on.” The interaction of individuals in the global village will lead to multi identities within a person. Here, we have to differentiate between identity and self.
Think of how our identities might get affected from stereotypes, discrimination, and conflicts, but at the same time realize how our own perception of people of different cultures has a profound impact on self identity. It’s amazing how different aspects of our culture play a role in developing our perception of the world; nevertheless, we have to realize that other perceptions exist.
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