The Ethics of Listening

Creating Space for Sustainable Dialogue

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Communication
Cover of the book The Ethics of Listening by Elizabeth S. Parks, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elizabeth S. Parks ISBN: 9781498573276
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: November 16, 2018
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Elizabeth S. Parks
ISBN: 9781498573276
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: November 16, 2018
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

There are ways of being in the world that create a flourishing life and other ways that restrict that life, both for ourselves and others. Listening is one of these ways of being. Listening gives shape to speaking, inviting other people into a dialogue that impacts our everyday lives. Our acts of listening, like all communication, are shaped by our cultural and individual differences. Unfortunately, as people consider ways to ethically listen, they often abide by a set of conversational rules that do not reflect or benefit their own or others’ unique contexts and communities.

In this book, Parks responds to gaps in scholarship related to listening in communication research and difference in ethics scholarship. Rather than imposing a rigid ethical norm that is unresponsive to diverse cultural practices, her proposed listening ethic is one that is highly contextualized and pluralistic and yet dares to make normative claims. Using discourse research methods that are both qualitative and quantitative, Parks goes beyond describing what listening is in a given context to what ethical listening should be. Empirical findings about listening from multiple communities that represent diverse ethnic, gender, and disability orientations are interwoven with insights from communication ethics to develop the first-ever dialogic ethics of listening that is empirically-based, culturally-grounded, and normative.

Ten shared values emerge as guidelines for good listening in this ethic: be open, cultivate understanding, practice authenticity, engage in critical thinking, invest in relationship, care for the dialogue, focus on what matters, be intentionally present, remember the ongoing story, and be responsive to need. These values, while shared across cultures, may be expressed in a diverse and sometimes conflicting communicative practices. Ultimately, Parks proposes that ethical listening is best conceptualized as pursuit of sustainable hospitality in our dialogic interactions within and across difference. By understanding the ways that different people share listening values yet practice them differently, we can learn to trust each other and attest to the hope that ethical dialogue is possible.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

There are ways of being in the world that create a flourishing life and other ways that restrict that life, both for ourselves and others. Listening is one of these ways of being. Listening gives shape to speaking, inviting other people into a dialogue that impacts our everyday lives. Our acts of listening, like all communication, are shaped by our cultural and individual differences. Unfortunately, as people consider ways to ethically listen, they often abide by a set of conversational rules that do not reflect or benefit their own or others’ unique contexts and communities.

In this book, Parks responds to gaps in scholarship related to listening in communication research and difference in ethics scholarship. Rather than imposing a rigid ethical norm that is unresponsive to diverse cultural practices, her proposed listening ethic is one that is highly contextualized and pluralistic and yet dares to make normative claims. Using discourse research methods that are both qualitative and quantitative, Parks goes beyond describing what listening is in a given context to what ethical listening should be. Empirical findings about listening from multiple communities that represent diverse ethnic, gender, and disability orientations are interwoven with insights from communication ethics to develop the first-ever dialogic ethics of listening that is empirically-based, culturally-grounded, and normative.

Ten shared values emerge as guidelines for good listening in this ethic: be open, cultivate understanding, practice authenticity, engage in critical thinking, invest in relationship, care for the dialogue, focus on what matters, be intentionally present, remember the ongoing story, and be responsive to need. These values, while shared across cultures, may be expressed in a diverse and sometimes conflicting communicative practices. Ultimately, Parks proposes that ethical listening is best conceptualized as pursuit of sustainable hospitality in our dialogic interactions within and across difference. By understanding the ways that different people share listening values yet practice them differently, we can learn to trust each other and attest to the hope that ethical dialogue is possible.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Rising Powers and the Arab–Israeli Conflict since 1947 by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book United States-Cuban Relations by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book Community Newspapers and the Japanese-American Incarceration Camps by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book Creating a Transformational Community by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book Macao and U.S.-China Relations by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship the World Over by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book Seeing Animals after Derrida by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book Advancing Excellence and Public Trust in Government by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book Fortune and the Dao by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book Identity Research and Communication by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book The Life of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book Race, Culture, and Identity by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book The Illusion of the Post-Colonial State by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book Liberal Socialism by Elizabeth S. Parks
Cover of the book I Could Not Call Her Mother by Elizabeth S. Parks
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy