Listening and changing the world — Moral Philosophy Seminar
“The WHT Leadership Programme, from its very beginning, builds on diversity and underscores a simple but powerful skill to tackle the complexities of the world: empathetic listening”
Democracy, freedom, feminism: You may think these are conclusive concepts, from which clear interpretations and commitments should arise. But is that in fact the case? When you engage in a conversation with young leaders from around the globe, it takes just a few minutes to conclude that it’s not. It is not the intention of this post to address the variety of distinct views around these topics. There will be time for that. Our aim, for now, is just to point out how the WHT Leadership Programme, from its very beginning, builds on diversity and underscores a simple but powerful skill to tackle the complexities of the world: empathetic listening.
The inaugural session of the Moral Philosophy Seminar revealed that the WHT 2020 – 2021 cohort, alike our predecessors, is a ‘rainbow’ of voices. It is a place where distinct perspectives about the world’s issues are exposed and explored to unlock fruitful dialogues that enrich individual views. A ‘rainbow’ that questions dominant ideas and prejudices, that favors deliberation and skepticism over unanimity and intellectual echo-chambers. This realization is far from trivial. We may want to change the world by achieving lasting impact in the areas we consider ourselves to be specialists in, but regardless of what form that aspiration takes, the first step, we have come to understand, is to appreciate and embrace diversity. That is only possible when dialogue thrives, and listening is the fundamental pillar of dialogue. To be clear, this not just hearing, but it is empathetic listening.
The WHT journey we just began is an invitation to develop authentic connections with other fellow scholars and to put ourselves in each other’s shoes and interrogate our preconceived opinions about critical topics. Even though the seminar was two days, it was enough to reaffirm that dialogue is an important way to comprehend and tackle the most pressing issues we face, from within and without, from climate change to social exclusion. Indeed, open dialogue is crucial to exploring alternative views, finding common ground and unlocking collaboration.
We left the seminar with renewed hope! We were reminded that diversity and dialogue trump discrimination and dominance. A rather simple precept one might think. It is widely ignored by influential and powerful leaders shaping our world at multiple levels, but make no mistake, we breathe hope. At the end, that is what WHT is about, what Oxford is about, what education is about. Hope for change and a better future - a future in which diversity is never oppressed and dialogue always prevails in all sectors, in all cultures, in all systems, in all latitudes. Each story and each pursuit of our cohort gives us a reason to be hopeful.
