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Home 
PublicationsAcademic - Articles - Reports
UNITY AS THE PRE-CONDITION AND MEANS FOR DECISION MAKING WITHOUT CONFLICT
Written by: Jadranka Mornar
Banja Luka Gymnasium
January 2002
Participant in the Education for Peace (EFP) Program
Man is a conscious being with abilities for understanding, integration and planning, or generally speaking, abilities for knowledge, love and will. Human nature should be looked at in terms of the relationship between the human consciousness (psychological dimension) and human body (biological dimension of the human reality). The human consciousness is in harmony with the biological dimension of reality and it is the subject of the coherent, cohesion processes that are taking place by certain laws. Coherence, cohesion and order are the expressions of human understanding (knowledge), integration (love) and planning (will). Physiological and psychological processes are always connected. The conscious and the material always function in accordance to the all-inclusive law of unity. The condition of unity creates life.
If certain disturbances in the human ability for knowledge, love and will occur, violence starts as the consequence of that disturbance. Every human being has the ability to know, to love and to act. Students can be observed in this context. What happens to the student when he is deprived of education, or when he is raised in the authoritarian family where he is deprived of love? He does not have the possibility to develop adequately the abilities of knowledge, love and will and then starts disturbance in those areas, which leads to conflict and violence.
Disturbances of Knowledge
The final goal of knowledge is truth and it is connected with authenticity. The disturbances of knowledge start in an environment where there is a lack of commitment to the truth, and in which people are not sincere or where there is disbelief. This includes relations between the men and the women, parents and children, pupils and teachers, employers and workers, government and citizens, nation and nations. These relations are disturbed in today’s world, which is in the phase of adolescence.
For me, as a teacher who teaches adolescents, a question is posed for the creative solution for conflict, which is the sense of growth and especially development of the young personality that will one day become the leader in his/her community. Reading the available works of Dr. Danesh (website: HBDanesh.org), it seems to me that the principle of unity explains the conflicts within myself, in the school community, family, society and the world. However, since mankind has reached only a level of adolescence, the process of global maturing, growth and development, is still at the beginning.
Unity on the global plain should be achieved, and what an individual can do now is to act on the individual level and in smaller social groups, for example, me in relation with the school. The question is how can an individual act, so that the others, for example pupils, would trust, because the crisis of confidence is one of the biggest nowadays.
Disturbances of Love
Unity is the capacity for love. It is a constructive condition and is the antithesis to conflict and violence. Unity is equality. Examples for the achievements of unity can be the individual, family, school community and society. We have to educate the pupils to be unifiers, in a sense, builders, to seek for the truth, to think for themselves. They should create new entities, such as marriage, family, friendship and community in which there is unity of the diversities.
Disturbances of Will
Disturbances of the will are the consequence of authoritarian and libertarian models of education. In the system of education, authoritarian behavior should be eliminated, as well as those based on indulgence, because both create conflicts among people.
Unity is the beginning and the cause of life. Where unity does not exist, there is conflict, violence and death. So, life is unity. The proposition of Dr. Danesh is that this formulation--unity is life, life is unity--explains a path to the resolution of conflicts. The concept of unity is the basis of life. It is the creative force that brings opposites closer in the formation of new forms and levels of life. In unity, differences become the source of harmony and represent an unconflicted approach to life. This concept should be taught to the young generation via formal (in the schools) and informal (in the families) education, in order for them to become truly free human beings which engage their own knowledge, love and will for the creation of a peaceful civilization.
In the context of unity and consultation, people get engaged in searching for the truth in order to come to the best solution. Making a decision without conflict must be based on the truth, and not on the power of the individual beings. Only people can make decisions. In the decision-making process we have the right to select; we decide on the nature of our family, society, and government. Each decision is based on a particular view of the world, operational principles and final goal.
Decisions can be made in three modes:
1. Authoritative
2. Libertarian
3. Integrative
The integrative approach to decision making means consultation. In the
consultative group, all members are equal, and universal ethical principles
are being applied. Unity is the first principle, then moderation and
sincerity. In the condition of unity, the exchange of ideas will lead
to creating better ideas. In the process consulting in a group, the
group allows the individual to freely express his ideas and opinions.
The ideas of each person are equally important. There should be moderation
in the freedom of expressing one’s ideas and patience during the
process.
Consultation should begin and finish with unity, which is the pre-condition for making decisions without conflict. When working with pupils, a level of unity must be achieved. The individual should prepare for unity and for seeking truth. Decisions should be just. The group should ensure that the decision-making reflects unity. For example, decisions made in the classroom should meet the needs and interests of all pupils. Criteria for the marks should be just and equal for all. All should freely discuss. Final decision should be made with all votes. It is necessary to sustain the unity of the group even when some of the members do not agree on the decision. They should accept the solution, which was chosen by the group. As unity is the means for making decision without conflict, if the decision is not good, it will be easier to correct if there is unity. The group should implement the decision and evaluate the result. The teacher, together with the pupils can estimate whether, for example, some decision in the new work method was good. That will result in a greater level of unity, and can be achieved in the work with the group of pupils. That is an example of more successful work and better results.
In the process of decision -making in the classroom I try to apply at least some of the aspects of the integrative model, so that the young generation can make responsible and free decisions without conflict in the future.
