The quote in the title is from Eric Miller, a proposition which this lecture sets out to explore, focusing both on what is ‘subversive’ and what is ‘our kind of consultancy.
From Brexit to Trumpism, immigration, climate change and the conflict in Gaza, partisanship is on the rise (Gallup poll 2023). We live in bubbles or echo-chambers with like-minded people, often unable even to fathom how others can be so wrong. As the stories we tell about ourselves and each other become more entrenched, dialogue across partisan divides becomes ever more elusive. At the same time, the discrepant versions each group has of the other impacts on what each can and cannot do, undermining agency.
As illustrated through case-studies, one of the greatest spurs to enhancing agency and dialogue is curiosity, the willingness to up-end our assumptions about ‘what is’, to pay attention to new evidence, and to begin to revise our stories. Bion proposed that curiosity and the drive for knowledge are innate to human nature, but they are constantly undermined by the competing need to defend ourselves against unbearable uncertainties.
How can we allow ourselves to be surprised, to really hear and engage with the Other’s stories? And what kind of leadership from whom do we need to enable us to do this?
