Essay Sample on Communication: A Philosophical Perspective

Introduction

There are various things that human beings cannot live without. Apart from the usual basic needs like food, water, housing and clothing, communication is something that happens every time two human or more human beings are around each other. Communication does not necessarily have to be verbal; this is why people and animals are sometimes able to understand each other. Communication can be done through gestures, talking, looking at people's facial expressions and reactions to things among other things. One of the essential parts of any form of interactions is communication, because with communication people can understand each other, and one can understand what the other person is saying or feeling. The following essay thus seeks to explain a personal reflection from readings done on the transition of from the linguistic turn in thinking about what we mean by communication as defined by Jurgen Habermas to the embodied turn as exemplified by Pragmatism especially John Dewey and Stephen Fesmire.

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First and foremost, for people to communicate they need to establish a fundamental communication tool or agent, for example, gestures or just normal talking. However, there is the issue of language and linguistic barriers which Habermas mostly talks about, as one of the leading causes of communication barriers between people. He, however, acknowledges that sometimes expression can cause a lack of consensus in the sense that some topics are avoided while other issues are exemplified, all in the name of a language. He therefore strongly argues that for effective communication to take place, the external organization of language and the internal organization of language need to be aligned to agree and also to prevent dominance.

Jurgen Habermas

According to Jurgen Habermas, from a student's point of view, decisions are always being made daily. Some may affect one directly while others may affect one indirectly. Habermas states that "I shall develop the thesis that anyone acting communicatively must, in performing any speech act, raise universal validity claims and suppose that they can be vindicated" (67). Some decisions or laws implemented within the school may not be necessarily what an individual agrees with or believe in. However, one is not given much of a chance, as in such an institution one is supposed to follow the rules made, as they are what run the institution. Looking at this scenario using communicative rationality and strategic v. communicative action, one gets to see the difference that presents itself when one tries to tackle a situation using the two concepts (Bohman 67).

A strategic approach makes the actors enter into dialogue with fixed and non-negotiable objectives. This means that no matter what argument is brought forth, their final decision cannot be swayed as it is an already made up decision. This mainly happens when the school tries to bring rules and implement regulations without consulting the students first. The administration uses a strategic approach, and they don't allow the students the freedom to express what they want or disapprove of the regulation or rules that are being implemented. This, therefore, implies that there is no form of communication between the two parties involved in the dialogue (Habermas 78).On the other hand, a communicative action concept ensures that dialogue is established between the two conversing parties - for example, the recent implementation of fine fees for students who misplaced their ID's. Initially, the school has put a policy in place if a student was to lose an ID then they will have to pay for the ID. However, using the communicative action concept, the students expressed their aggrievances towards this approach, by arguing that a student should be given one chance, and if they misplaced their ID again, then the student will have to pay for the lost ID. The administration listened and gave out their views and firmly insisted that whoever lost an ID more than once will have to pay a fine fee.

This clearly shows the power that communicative action as discussed by Habermas holds. The two parties were able to come to an agreement which benefited both sides, and no one felt that they were bullied or oppressed. Through this method of communicative rationality, the students and the administration sat together and decided on terms without conflict, which is one of the things that communicative rationality tries to eliminate.

Stephen Fesmire

Fesmire put forth several concepts, but he mainly focused his work around imagination. He also mirrored some of his work from Dewey and tried to pluralize or exemplify his work further. The two main concepts focused on by Fesmire, include ecological imagination and moral education. Ecological imagination makes a significant impact in our deliberation when one uses ecological metaphors to shape our mental simulations (Stroud 7).

Moral education, on the other hand, should always aim to cultivate ecological imagination. In the student application case, a project such as a school garden where the students get to plant crops, take care of them and later on take them to the kitchen to be used as their food is an excellent example of ecological imagination and moral education (Fesmire 23).

Such a system is not directly infringed in the curriculum of the students, but such a project forms a very crucial part of learning for the students. For example, one learns how to appreciate the water cycle, the weather patterns and other implements that go into the growth of plants for human consumption. As a student, one would be able to appreciate how food is made instead of just assuming that food magically appears on one's plate. For this instance, if the student is directly involved in the growth of food, they will learn to understand how water shortages around could lead to people not harvesting anything and thus food shortages.

Therefore, when matters of food shortages are discussed on a global level, then the student can appreciate more. When issues of water cycles and weather patterns are brought up as causes of food shortages, then the student can appreciate these issues on a broader level. Ecological imagination also allows the student to get creative; hence the child can look for alternative methods of growing the crop, or ways of using water sparingly so that they can have sufficient water to water their plants throughout the growing season.

This gives the students a better way of expressing themselves without necessarily having to talk out their opinions but acting out their views. Hence the communication base between the teachers and the students is more heightened. This type of communication is interactive, and it allows for the student to learn more things through imagination and experimentation.

John Dewey

John Dewey once wrote, "Of all affairs, communication is the most wonderful" (14). He believes that it is in communication that society is born and nurtured. According to Dewey human communication is conceptualized by the ability to think, act and process information. This directly means that psychology has a direct effect on how people communicate. It ranges from how people say they want to do something, to how they want to implement a particular action.

The art of communication is perceived internally before there is an outward expression of an individual. Viewing communication as a tool of cognitive psychology deploys that the mental capability of an individual is directly reflected in their communication skills and how they dialogue with other people. Communication is internally grounded according to Dewey (Triezenberg 14).

Reflection of the concept of the emergence of meaning from grounded communication, on a student's perspective practically shows mutual grounds, and shared understandings between two or more parties when they are having a conversation. This means that in the case where a teacher and a student are communicating, then there needs to be a grounded communication system between the two.

With this aspect in mind, the issue of teachers teaching students things that they do not understand is eliminated. Employing this method in teaching could help, because the student understands what the teacher is teaching even though they do not have all the information at that time, they can still process whatever is being taught, and their communication process is made easier.

Dewey's view of communication also allows for creativity, when it comes to speaking. For example, in a classroom situation when a student is unable to process what the teacher is teaching, they are unable to express themselves in a manner that other people may understand. However, allowing a student to communicate their internal thoughts, then the student can express themselves freely. As stated, above communication begins by thinking, acting and then processing the information being given.

Through his explanation, one can understand people who sing or people who sing or people who draw. This is because these people express what they are thinking and feeling inside onto the songs and the paintings, and try to communicate through that. Not everyone is born a genius, hence the ability of people to express themselves in different ways and communicate by turning their inner thoughts into an external display, whether through talking or just art, should be the basic foundation of what communication is based on. Hence students should be given the freedom to express themselves in a form that communicates to the outside world.

Conclusion

Communication, as discussed by the three philosophers, is addressed as an essential tool for any interaction between human beings. Human beings should always strive to ensure that when communicating with each other, a common ground is met, there is mutual understanding, and above all, a consensus is achieved. People who express extreme opinions should always give the other people the opportunity to express themselves freely and try to listen instead of believing that what they believe is what is supposed to be. Communication also forms the necessary ground for education, whether in a classroom situation, a driving lesson or swimming lesson. One should ensure that they pay attention to how the other person is communicating and also one should take care of how they interact with other people.

Works Cited

Fesmire, Steven. "Morality as art: Dewey, metaphor, and moral imagination." Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 35.3 (1999): 527-550.

James, William, and H. S. Thayer. Pragmatism. Vol. 1. Harvard University Press, 1975.

Habermas, Jurgen. Autonomy and solidarity: interviews with Jurgen Habermas. Verso, 1992.

Triezenberg, George. "Student Communication Rights." NASSP Bulletin 57.372 (1973): 13-23.

Stroud, Scott R. "Dewey on art as evocative communication." Education and Culture 23.2 (2007): 6-26.

Habermas, Jurgen. On the pragmatics of communication. MIT Press, 2000.

Bohman, James, and William Rehg. "Jurgen habermas." (2007).