Litigation in Plato's Allegory of the Cave
Think of the cave as being "your side" of "the case" -- the facts that fit within the "elements" of the cause of action that will entitle your client to a remedy.
Think of the outside world as representing the lived experience of both parties with all of the texture, ambiguity, dimensionality, particularity and depth of human experience and the particular experience of injustice.
How far outside of the cave are any of us willing to venture?
Hat tip to @BILL_ROMANOS for leading me to this fabulous claymation of Plato's Allegory of the Cave.
Watch The Cave: An Adaptation of Plato's Allegory in Clay in Animation | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Comments (4)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endGavin Craig - April 1, 2009 9:59 AM
Great post. This is hard to do (recognizing a reality that is different than your own,) when you are in a negotiation or mediation. This is another way to try to understand that the other parties reality and their point of view is different than your own. I'm not sure you need to venture out side the cave as much as you need to recognize that the other party has their own cave, and therefor view things differently. If a party recognizes that the other party has a different reality, then you can strive to understand.
Vickie - April 1, 2009 10:43 AM
Your comment reminds me that this allegory can also be applied to the negotiated resolution of litigated cases in separate mediation caucuses. It remains best to be in one another's cave for the attempt to resolve the conflict that separated the parties into separate sound-proof rooms in the first place. Thanks for dropping by to comment. I'm always particularly happy to hear from lawyers who are NOT mediators! (yes I love you my mediation peers, but I'm singing to your choir, no?)
Constance Camus,Esq. - April 13, 2009 1:16 PM
You can think of this another way. Litigation vs. Negotiation as caves. Example: In a recent custody case, the judge told the lawyers and the parties to go to an adjacent room to attempt settlement. When we all sat down, the opposing counsel, with his arms folded and his horns showing, declared "I am a litigator, I am paid to try cases not settle them." Well, of course, I couldn't let that go and explained that we wear many hats as advocates, especially in the arena dealing with families. (Duh!) He huffed and puffed and walked out of the room. Needless to say, the case did not settle and he was fired by the other party the very next week.
Vickie - April 13, 2009 2:12 PM
Thanks for dropping by to comment Constance! Litigation and mediation definitely different caves. I strive to work within the attorneys' "zone of proximal development," i.e., to ascertain how deep into the adversarial they are and whether there is a way to draw them from their present state of mind into a more collaborative process. Litigators are all over the board, I find. Some, like yours, may never be able to stop huffing and puffing. Argy-bargy, John Wade calls it -- argumentative bargaining. Others surprise me with their wisdom and ability to draw firm lines while creating a workable space within which a collaborative resolution can be crafted.