Jacques L Koko

Mindful of Cultures and Conflicts Jacques L Koko

By means of fictional characters, this book suggests that the mindfulness of cultural diversity launches people's awareness of other cultures. The mindfulness of cultural diversity enables cultural open-mindedness. Cultural open-mindedness helps transcend the barriers of cultural close-mindedness, and it predisposes one to conflict prevention, conflict transformation, and peacemaking. Cultural open-mindedness uplifts the self by awakening positive attitudes that nurture the spirit of cultural relativism and multiculturalism. Cultural open-mindedness recognizes or celebrates cultural diversity. It creates a cognitive shift that makes you move beyond a cultural isolation or dictatorship; it allows you to accept cultural relativism. Cultural relativism implies cultural uniqueness; it reminds us that every culture is sui generis or unique and relative to some individuals or groups. Cultural relativism does not endorse zero-sum cultural interactions; it does not generate cultural contexts of zero gravity, but it entails that every culture echoes a discontinuous radiation of impactive social energy as in the quantum theory. Cultural relativism challenges the notion of cultural universalism as a utopia or as a myth. Cultural relativism is uplifting, because it shies away from xenophobic attitudes and enables xenophilic behaviors. The acceptance of cultural relativism fosters multiculturalism. The parties' mindfulness of their cultural diversity is a prerequisite for a constructive conflict transformation. The mindfulness of cultural diversity is a helpful step in conflict resolution; it may be an indispensable step in any process of successful peacemaking.