the art of living courageously week 7: courage and truth

Jackson Institute for Global Affairs

Courage in Theory & Practice

Roz Savage

Main Points So Far

❖ Trajectory of courageous life vs average life❖ Courage is not the absence of fear, but feeling

the fear and doing it anyway❖ When Motivation > Fear => COURAGE❖ Virtuous feedback loop between courageous

action and courageous mindset

Week 7: Courage and Truth

❖ Being truthful to others❖ factual truth: flatterer or friend?❖ personal truth

❖ Being truthful to ourselves❖ the courage to see the truth about the world❖ the courage to see the truth about ourselves

❖ Listening to another person’s truth:❖ coaching❖ truth as a process, not a noun

–George Orwell

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

Week 7: Courage and Truth

❖ Being truthful to others❖ factual truth: flatterer or friend?❖ personal truth

❖ Being truthful to ourselves❖ the courage to see the truth about the world❖ the courage to see the truth about ourselves

❖ Listening to another person’s truth:❖ coaching❖ truth as a process, not a noun

Factual Truth

Discuss whether true sentences are necessary for a true life

Reflections on honesty quiz

Parrhêsia: telling the whole truth, hiding nothing of the truth,

telling the truth without hiding it behind anything,

while being aware that speaking this truth

will carry consequences

How “bad” are these forms of misinformation?

❖ On a scale of 0 to 10:❖ Gossip or mild slander❖ Deliberate manipulation in presenting data, or framing

facts so as to mislead❖ White lies designed to reassure or placate❖ Failure to disclose relevant facts for reasons of self-

interest❖ Deliberately revealing only a partial truth❖ Failure to express a deep hurt❖ Lying to avert a perceived evil (no self interest)

Personal Truth

–Oscar Wilde

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you

the truth.

Personal Truth: NVCNon Violent Communication/Compassionate Communication

1. Observation: factual description of event

2. Feelings: what emotions we experienced, or are experiencing as a result of the event

3. Needs: what emotions we would prefer

4. Request: what action the other person could do to help satisfy our needs

Week 7: Courage and Truth

❖ Being truthful to others❖ factual truth: flatterer or friend?❖ personal truth

❖ Being truthful to ourselves❖ the courage to see the truth about the world❖ the courage to see the truth about ourselves

❖ Listening to another person’s truth:❖ coaching❖ truth as a process, not a noun

–Virginia Woolf

“If you do not tell the truth about yourself, you cannot tell it about other people.”

Courage To See What We Don’t See

What We Know We Know

What We Know We Don’t Know

What We Think We Know

What We Don’t Know We Don’t Know

All There Is To Know

Being Truthful to Ourselves

❖ What are our blind spots? ❖ What factors might create blind spots?❖ How can we minimise our blind spots?

Week 7: Courage and Truth

❖ Being truthful to others❖ factual truth: flatterer or friend?❖ personal truth

❖ Being truthful to ourselves❖ the courage to see the truth about the world❖ the courage to see the truth about ourselves

❖ Listening to another person’s truth:❖ coaching❖ truth as a process, not a noun

Coaching❖ Non-directive: not mentoring or instructing❖ Future-oriented: not therapy❖ Coachee is deemed creative, resourceful, and

whole❖ Coach’s main job is to ask powerful questions to

encourage self-reflection

Sample Coaching Questions

❖ What is the experience you’re looking to create?❖ What’s stopping you?❖ What part of what you’ve just said could be an

assumption?❖ How much energy are you willing to put into

that?

“We can't talk to each other about politics any more because not only do we have our

own beliefs, now we all have our own facts.”

–Richard Potter for Quora

Truth As A Process, Not A Noun

Truth As A Process, Not A Noun

Events

Patterns

Systemic Structures

Narratives

How do we get closer to a shared truth?

Humility and curiosity

“Most men would rather deny a hard truth

than face it.”

—Tyrion Lannister