Bakersfield.com

For the past eight years the University of Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture has been presenting annual conferences to address major issues of our time. This year's conference entitled "The Dialogue of Cultures" focused the intellectual resources of 13 prominent speakers and 130 presenters of papers over three days from Nov. 29 to Dec 1, 2007 on cultural conflict. It included discussion of sensitive issues such as the challenges of multiculturalism, incommensurable beliefs and terrorism.

Richard Poirier, a music industry financial executive, writer and philosopher, was invited to present a paper entitled "Incommensurable Beliefs Facilitate Cultural Dialogue Conflict." His presentation focused on the nature of beliefs with examples of people who justify violence based on beliefs.

Poirier explored how to possibly influence such people by understanding the standards they appeal to in justifying their acts of violence and by evaluating their motives. Thus, through understanding their standards, motives and ends we can construct arguments in dialogue that may penetrate religious and cultural barriers through real communication that affects behavior.

Prominent speakers included the Most Reverend Elias Chacour, Archbishop of Nazareth and Galilee, who as a noted peace advocate gave the keynote address on "The Role of Religion in Promoting Dialogue." Philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre gave a seminal speech to a standing room only audience in his provocative response to the ideas of Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan on integration problems facing Muslims in Europe and their broader implications for modern states including America.

Jude Dougherty, Dean Emeritus of The Catholic University of America's School of Philosophy gave an insightful presentation on American politics in his paper entitled "Red States, Blue States: Cultures in Conflict." He presented the view that contemporary 'politically correct' notions of tolerance associated with multiculturalism were replacing America's founding fathers' traditional values that have historically provided Americans with their self-identity within the context of a constitutionally unified republic.

It is indeed refreshing to know that in an era in which most public debate is conducted not with a focus on solving problems, but rather with a focus of appearing to discuss problems in such a way as to not offend the sensibilities of anyone, that The Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture has convened annual conferences to seriously address openly and honestly any topic that impacts modern ethics and the cultures in which we live.

Richard Poirier's presentation on "Incommensurable Beliefs and Cultural Conflict" is available to readers on his blog and on the post below.

Poirier believes that everyone should participate in the project of understanding one another and argue against the unnecessary use of violence.