A Mediator (‘M’) can help resolve an Epistemological Crisis (‘EC’) – i.e. when Participants (‘P’s) cannot agree about what is ‘true’, by shifting the focus upon ‘facts, to a collaborative exploration of underlying interests and shared procedural standards.
Unlike a judge who adjudicates upon the P’s rights, M can use specific techniques to bridge the gap between the P’s ‘conflicting realities’, i.e. their ‘narratives’.
In ‘Whose Justice? Which Rationality?’ (1988), Alasdair MacIntyre argues that ‘rationality’ is rooted in specific traditions, challenging Mediators to abandon the quest for a neutral, ‘universal ground’ in favour of navigating conflicting, tradition-bound perspectives.
M can use an EC as a catalyst for change by shifting the ‘focus’ from ‘what is true’, to how each P ‘constructs their own subjective truth’.
Mediator Tools include:
1. ‘Challenging Naïve Realism’ – M can help each P to recognize that their ‘common sense’ is often a ‘fallible’ interpretation rather than a direct reflection of ‘reality’.
2. ‘Neutral Education’ – M may neutrally explain the existence of ‘cognitive biases’ or ‘System 1′ fast-thinking errors, which can correct biased thinking and encourage more deliberate, ‘System 2’ reasoning.
3. ‘Encouraging Epistemic Humility’ – By highlighting that truth is often perceived through subjective ‘webs of belief,’ M can encourage each P to view their own claims as being ‘fallible’ rather than as being universal ‘absolute truths’.
4. ‘Slowing down the thinking process’ – EC’s often trigger high-intensity emotions that lead to rapid, biased decision-making.
M can slow down the thinking process by:
(a) ‘Asking Open-Ended Questions’ – This forces the P’s to use ‘analytical reasoning’.
(b) ‘Strategic Breaks’ – Implementation of ‘cooling-off’ periods of at least 20 minutes, i.e. to help release a P from the powerful grasp of a stormy emotional state caused by ‘biased’ thinking.
These Mediator Tools will be discussed in my forthcoming book about the ‘Mediation of Cultural Heritage Disputes’, see www.carlislam.co.uk