The importance of "listen to the other side"

[pieter]

Audi alteram partem



Audi alteram partem (or audiatur et altera pars) is a Latin phrase meaning "listen to the other side", or "let the other side be heard as well". It is the principle that no person should be judged without a fair hearing in which each party is given the opportunity to respond to the evidence against them.

"Audi alteram partem" is considered to be a principle of fundamental justice or equity or the principle of natural justice in most legal systems. This principle includes the rights of a party or its lawyers to confront the witnesses against them, to have a fair opportunity to challenge the evidence presented by the other party, to summon one's own witnesses and to present evidence, and to have counsel, if necessary at public expense, in order to make one's case properly.

History of use



As a general principle of rationality in reaching conclusions in disputed matters, "Hear both sides" was treated as part of common wisdom by the ancient Greek dramatists. A similar principle can also be found in Islamic law, based on a hadith indicating that in litigation, both parties must be heard. The principle was referred to by the International Court of Justice in the Nuclear Tests case, referring to France's non-appearance at judgment. Modern legal systems differ on whether individuals can be convicted in absentia. The principle is used in labour law matters in countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Other uses

The phrase is also the origin of the name of German carmaker Audi. Founder August Horch had left his previous company, Motorwagenwerke, after a dispute with partners and founded a new company on 16 July 1909, initially named the August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH. His former partners sued him for trademark infringement, and the German Reichsgericht (Supreme Court) ruled that the Horch brand belonged to his former company. Horch therefore called a meeting with close business friends Paul and Franz Fikentscher, to come up with a new name for the company. During this meeting, Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father – audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi instead of horch?" "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "hear", which is "Audi" in the singular imperative form of "audire" – "to listen" – in Latin. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting, and the company was registered as Audi Automobilwerke GmbH Zwickau in 1910.

[pieter]

Folks,

I post this subject about Audi alteram partem, because it seems like that this principle of fundamental justice or equity or the principle of natural justice in most legal systems is under threat in Europe, Northern-America and other parts of the world. Division, polarisation, Solipsist one side thinking and abolutist thinking seems to be growing in the world.

In the West people are increasingly liberal or conservative, leftwing or rigthwing, secular or religious and never the twain shall meet. Two parties (Democrats & Republicans, Russians and Ukrainians, Russians and Americans), places (Moscow & Kiev), etc., are very different and can never be brought together or made similar.

I see a growing dogmatic, doctrinary, stubborn, one sided, monotheist, ideological, strict, Orthodox (in the sense of inflexible, rectilinear, one-sided, absolutist) thinking, acting, believing and way of living of people both in Europe and Northern America. In the UK, Ireland, Contintental Europe, the USA, Canada, South-Africa, Israel, Poland, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Russia, China and Brazil.

It seems as if in that Solipsistic, narcissistic, megalomaniac, egocentric and sociopathic thinking every empathy and tolerance and understanding of and for the other has disappeared. I fictitiously describe the mindset of such a megalomaniac, Solipsistic modern psychopath and sociopath, who may be a political, business or religious leader or just a citizen:

"You are either for or against me. Black and white, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I am right and the other is wrong. Do not stand in my way, because I am right my idea must be implemented and your idea must be counteracted or I will go crazy if your idea or wish works and continues, because I want my idea to continue and be implemented.

I will do everything in my power to thwart your will, opinion, free speech, desire, purpose, work, aspirations and life, because you are A and I am B.

Your feelings, your friends, your family, your interests, your life, your area of ​​life, your history, your background, your political beliefs, your belief in God, your goodness (in ethics, values, and morals), your good deeds, your achievements in life, your existence, your past, present and future do not interest me because you are the enemy, because you are of the other party, of a different ideology, a different opinion, a different culture, a different social milieu and your supports another candidate, leader, or foreman.

And that is why I dislike you, hate you, want nothing to have do with you, ignore you or act aggressively or violently towards you when I encounter you in physical form or in figurative form on the Internet.

I will do everything to oppose and torpodize your party, your movement, your philosophy, your life purpose and your mission."

Can we be honest folks and ask ourselves if we are like that. We think we have a monopoly on the absolute truth. That we are so wise and omniscient that we know what the truth is, what it looks like and that we can best shape it ourselves, follow it or let it be?

Do we live in a comfort zone of our own right? Our traditions, culture, origin, political party, vision, philosophy of life, rights and duties, our way of life and our group are the right ones and those of 'the other', theirs, those of those who are not like us, the stranger, those neighbors, relatives and those colleagues from that other party are wrong.

Is this the phase of Western democracy, parliamentarism, the so-called rule of law, our National democracies, our Trias Politica and our political affinity in which we have ended up?

Are we moving towards an illiberal democracy, a presidential dictatorship. At a time of two great warring power blocs in the West?

On the one hand the Estatist Social-Liberal, Social Democratic, Progressive power bloc of American Democrats, the European Labor parties, European Liberals, Greens and the left wing of Christian Democracy and on the other hand the right-wing power bloc of Laissez Faire (small government ), Libertarian, Conservative, Right National Populist, National Conservative and Nationalist forces?

On both sides dominate the 'own right', the Gutmensch (do-gooder without ironic connotation) idea, absolutism, one's own ideal as an absolute goal, leaders who figure as symbols and receive too little criticism from their own circle, and on both sides reigns the idea of ​​the other party or the other leader as the 'Ultimate Evil'. Donald Trump as the scape goat for the liberals and Joe Biden as the scape goat for the conservatives, nationalists and Rightwing Populists.

Are our societies tearing apart because we can no longer listen to each other, because we no longer want to hear the arguments of the other and because we only want to hear our own story or do we still have some kind of Audi alteram partem, do we still listen to the other side because we believe in Freedom, Democracy and Pluralism?

I have to say folks that I am rather pessimistic and maybe fatalistic, because today totalitarian, Colonialist, racist, anti-semitic, Anti-Slavic sentiment (Slavophobia), anti-Polonism, anti-Ukrainianism, Anti-Russian sentiment (Russophobia), anti-Western sentiments (extreme sectarian, islamist, Neo-nazi, Neo-Fascist, Neo-Stalinist, Neo-Maoist, Communist, Soviet) are alive and kicking in Europe, Northern-America, Southern-America, Brazil, China (National Communism, Socialism with Chinese characteristics), Turkey, the Middle East (Arab nationalism, Pan-Arabism and etc.) are alive and kicjing today. I don't think it is pleasant to be a Polish guestworker in certain West-European countries.

Intolerance comes from both sides. Leftist marxist and radical liberal students and professors are blocking free speech on certain universities by hindering or blocking performances, lectures or speeches by conservative, libertarian or nationalist speakers by labeling them 'reactionary', 'fascist', 'Nazi' or Zionist'. That is a worrisme development. In my opinion no one would be blocked from free soeech. I am radical demcratic, libertarian and liberal in that stance.

The hate monguering of certain conservative and liberal media hinder free speech, respect for other opinions, the ability to Audi alteram partem ("listen to the other side", or "let the other side be heard as well") and undermine the fabric of a Free society with eqaulity for all and freedom of expression of all.

Certain sections of Europe and the America's have become zones of illiberal democracy, and others are moving from illiberal democracies towards authoritarian, totalitarian states. We in Europe should avoid driving into the direction of the Russian Federation, Hungary, Turkey, Syria, India (Hindu Nationalist regime), Ukraine (loss of independence and foreign powers occupying parts of your territory with you citizens trapped inside that occupied territories).

Where are we today folks? Is it like the Munich Agreement (Czech: Mnichovská dohoda; Slovak: Mníchovská dohoda; German: Münchner Abkommen) 30 September 1938 again, is it comparable to the Anschluß (Anschluss) 12 March 1938 (Austria) again? is this time comparable to the Soviet invasion of Poland from 17 September to 6 October 1939, to the Hungarian Uprising from 23 October to 10 November 1956, to the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia on 20 and 21 August 1968. Or is this more like the start of the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war and the Syrian conflict in an Eastern-European version.

This thread was made by a soulsearching Pieter who used his background in culture, health care communication and local/regional journalism and camera/edit work to formulate questions. I am curious about the replies.

Last thing. I hear sounds and questions about our democratic society and the West. Are we in a final stage or just in a turbulent state of the Western society? Are North-America and Europe drifting apart or are we still the United West. Should Europe think about an Aleingang and start thinking of organising itself into a military, financial economical and geopolitical power? We face multiple problems. Climate change, a refugee crisis, Covid-19, Mee Too, Cyber warfare and attacks, divided societies (Liberal vs conservative) and a growing gap between rich and poor (haves and haves not), an uncontrolable organised crime with a lof of power (the Black criminal economy, the shadow economy - white washing practices-), and the destabilizing and eroding dangers of corruption, Fraud, bribing, clientelism, nepotism, Blackmnail (naming and shaming), human trafficking and etc.

Where are we going to. What is our condition humaine, where are we moving towards as humanity. What do we want, what can we do, what do we want to do about it and what is our responsibility, task and duty as human beings?

Cheers,
Pieter

[pieter]

Folks,

Next to the political division and the disintegrating Western world I am worried about the digitalisation of the world, growing power of abstract insititutions, bureaucracies, intelligence agencies with their Signal Intelligence and the role algorithms play in Google, Facebook, Global corporations and therefor the decreasing privacy of citizens and in that the decreasing security and digital safety and freedom of people.



As soon as artificial intelligence makes better decisions than we do about our professions, our relationships, our life... then our idea of humanity and life will have to change. Biotechnology and artificial intelligence want to change something fundamental, namely what it means to be human. If we are committed to the right to life, should we try to overcome death through biotechnology? If we are committed to the right to freedom, should algorithms then be empowered to decipher and fulfil our hidden desires?

Technology isn’t bad. If you know what you want in life, technology can help you get it. But if you don’t know what you want in life, it will be all too easy for technology to shape your aims for you and take control of your life. Especially as technology gets better at understanding humans, you might increasingly find yourself serving it, instead of it serving you. Have you seen those zombies who roam the streets with their faces glued to their smartphones? Do you think they control the technology, or does the technology control them? Should you rely on yourself, then? That sounds great on Sesame Street or in an old-fashioned Disney film, but in real life it doesn’t work so well. Even Disney is coming to realise it. Just like Riley Andersen, most people hardly know themselves, and when they try to ‘listen to themselves’ they easily become prey to external manipulations. The voice we hear inside our heads was never trustworthy, because it always reflected state propaganda, ideological brainwashing and commercial advertisement, not to mention biochemical bugs.


Riley Elphaba Andersen is a major character in the 2015 Disney/Pixar animated feature film, Inside Out. She is an 11-year-old girl (later 12) in 6th grade who loves ice hockey. She was uprooted from her happy and simple life in Minnesota and taken to San Francisco, California, where she experiences various changes in her life. Her emotions (Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger) help her through this tough time, ensuring her well-being.

Today, as biotechnology and machine learning become better and better, it becomes easier and easier to manipulate people's deepest emotions and desires. It is no longer about computers being hacked, but about people being hacked in the future. Algorithms observe us, where we go, what we buy, whom we meet. Soon they overgrow our steps, our breaths and our heartbeat. Big data and machine learning are trying to get to know us better and better. And as soon as these algorithms know us better than we know ourselves, they can slowly take control of us in many small hardly noticeable steps.

The algorithms are watching you right now. They are watching where you go, what you buy, whom you meet. Soon they will monitor all your steps, all your breaths, all your heartbeats. They are relying on Big Data and machine learning to get to know you better and better. And once these algorithms know you better than you know yourself, they can control and manipulate you, and you won’t be able to do much about it. You will live in the Matrix, or in The Truman Show. In the end, it’s a simple empirical matter: if the algorithms indeed understand what’s happening within you better than you understand it yourself, authority will shift to them.


The Matrix


The Truman Show

Of course, you might be perfectly happy ceding all authority to the algorithms and trusting them to decide things for you and for the rest of the world. If so, just relax and enjoy the ride. You don’t need to do anything about it. The algorithms will take care of everything. If, however, you want to retain some control over your personal existence and the future of life, you have to run faster than the algorithms, faster than Amazon and the government, and get to know yourself before they do. To run fast, don’t take much baggage with you. Leave all your illusions behind. They are very heavy.”—Yuval Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century (2019)



No one knows what the future will look like. Humans like to tell themselves stories, be they in the form of religion or political ideologies, such as nationalism, communism and liberalism. But none of these can adequately prepare us for what may happen in the next 50 years. New technology and climate change might make the world more different than we can possibly imagine. So we had better keep an open mind and hope for the best.

Cheers,
Pieter

Sources:
www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/sep/09/21-lessons-for-the-21st-century-by-yuval-noah-harari-digested-read
www.linkedin.com/pulse/21-lessons-21st-century-yuval-noah-harari-simon-umbreit
www.hindustantimes.com/books/excerpt-21-lessons-for-the-21st-century-by-yuval-noah-harari/story-oYRWSfDa3bP2TNT8u8YHEK.html

[karl]

Pieter

Very well spoken words I must say, and how well do I agree with them and you. Yes, there is no black and white for the reason of the grey that separates them, for as of the Roman coin, there is always two sides to consider. In short, perhaps a little more empathic understanding needs be the word of the day in as well as: Audi alteram partem.

My self was taken back with your history lesson of Horch and Audi, I was not aware of that history so no matter our respective age, life is still the teacher.

Karl

[pieter]

Karl,

In the American sense the sense to "listen to the other side", or "let the other side be heard as well" is not only important for one of the 2 main political parties when you are a Republican or a Democrat, it also means that you listen to the Independent voices as well, and dissident voices within your own political party, whether that is the Democratic Party or Republican Party. What are the conservative, liberal, liberal conservative, paleoconservative, Neo-conservative, libertarian, progressive Social democratic (Democratic Socialist), Green Party, Reform party, Constitutional Party voices in the USA? What ideas are there and what choices can you make. In the Netherlands in my work at the city council in the press corner I watched the debate and decisions of 12 different political parties and knew them all. The Dutch parliament has 16 political parties and 5 independent parliamentarians whom are often split offs from some of these political parties. In my opinion there are to many political parties in the Dutch parliament. The 2 political parties in the American Congress, Capitol and Senate are to less, but the European and especially Dutch situations is too polarised. The American congress could have 3 or 5 political parties, that would be better for the pluriformity, debate and it is good if coalition governments would be formed and that single political parties would not be so powerful as the Democratic and Republican parties today. The USA misses a third political party like the Liberal democratic in the United Kingdom.

ris2.ibabs.eu/People/Profiles/Arnhem/61635165-98f8-4674-a944-a86f1d7a2e49


By the way after this video was made a coalition government was formed of the VVD-D66-CDA and ChristenUnie parties. The same parties and the same coalitions like before the elections.

Cheers,
Pieter