Nonviolence as A Science of Conflict Resolution

By Mr. Antonino Drago

A premise on nonviolence and science : In Gandhi's teachings a religious man has to be capable of enlarging his awareness to include the whole society in order to transcend even a clash of civilisations-e.g. the ancient Indian one and the western one-from a higher viewpoint. Moreover, the complexity of modern world pushes nonviolent people to substantiate this awareness through slogans, teaching activities, books, etc. in order to produce a specific social culture which amounts to even a theory. In fact, Gandhi often reiterated that his life was a scientific experiment on his nonviolent method qualified to be a science. I do not know of any relevant reactions from academic persons to these sentences, which have perhaps been considered Gandhi's effort for improving a mutual understanding with the western people through his appeal to a value of dominant culture.

No science of this kind was ever recognised by the Western scientists. Western people consider science an abstract social production to reject an inappropriate attempt of correlating it with a personal involvement as nonviolence requires. On the other hand, even a satyagrahi may not quality for scientific nonviolent attitude. His ethical and religious components cannot be dismissed easily. If, however, we decide to investigate Gandhi's teaching about his science of conflict resolution, the first move may be to relate nonviolence to a socio- psychological theory of conflict resolution. Yet, in the Western culture the birth of a socio-psychological theory dates back to the same period however Gandhi did not subscribe to this kind of science. Though social sciences are very far from natural sciences, he, rather, referred to 'hard' Western science, on the basis of the common use of the word 'science'. On the other hand, though he baptized his nonviolence as science surely Gandhi stuck to all his criticisms of the Western science as one of the most relevant types of violence of a structural kind exported by the Western civilisation.2 I conclude that Gandhi referred to hard sciences, yet he interpreted them under an alternative light.

An alternative tradition in Western natural science : By an accurate examination of the history of scientific theories I have proved that since 18th century natural sciences have included a relevant tradition. It is not difficult to recognise that classical chemistry was at variance with the theory dominating along two centuries, i.e. Newton's mechanics and its improved versions. But, the same holds true for some more theories: L. Carnot's calculus, geometry and mechanics, S. Carnot's thermodynamics, Lobachevskii's non­euclidean geometry.3

The alternative attitude of so many theories is commonly ignored since they are all charged to be phenomenological, "immature", Baconian (that is, lacking advanced mathematics) theories. Yet, by a mutual comparison I showed that they enjoy a common method, which was illustrated by L. Carnot as a new interpretation of the old "synthetic method"4. It shares the following basic features with Gandhi's nonviolent method:

(i) According to the synthetic method, each of the above theories to be organised as an apodictic system whose truth flows from few abstract axioms by means of a purely deductive development, puts first a universal problem pertaining to a given field of applications; e.g., in 19th Century, classical chemistry puts forth the problem of discovering by which elements matter is constituted: S. Carnot's thermodynamics puts the problem of the maximum production of work from heat; Lobachevskii's theory puts the problem whether more than one parallel line is possible in geometry. 5

Likely, the theory of nonviolence too does not follow any self-evident principles, rather it puts the universal problem how to solve a conflict in the interpersonal relationships through an agreement with the opponent.

Remarkably, there exist some theories which are intermediate between natural sciences and the theory of nonviolence. The case of strategic theories is interesting since these objective theories may be considered scientific in nature. In opposition to strategies applying brute, destructive force there are some which try to solve conflicts, i.e. wars by combining power with political aims of a general nature. The latter attitude was shared by Sun Tzu, L. Carnot and Clausewitz. In particular, L. Carnot's strategy aimed at defence only through the least loss of human lives.

(ii) Each of the above theories accumulates evidences from commonly shared knowledge in order to eventually induce a crucial result on a new method capable of solving the stated universal problem. Such a feature is apparent in classical chemistry, which by both composing and decomposing common substances found out an excellent method for knowing the list of the elements of matter although lacking direct evidence of them. Similar notes apply to the remaining above theories. The crucial result for the resulting new method is often stated by means of an ad absurdum theorem-e.g., Carnot's theorem in thermodynamics.

Likewise, the theory of nonviolence leads a person to perform a patient and clever analysis on the common shared experience of human relationships in order to provide evidence in opponent's personality with a view to arriving at an acceptable viewpoint; from it one may evidence for inducing a new specific methodfor solving a conflict according to the best agreement as possible. The eventual result is obtained by means of an ad absurdum theorem, which may be stated in the following general terms: "It is absurd that my opponent is not my brother, God does not exist", or "... otherwise, universal brotherhood is impossible".

Since the above-mentioned strategists started from common knowledge they wrote books for laymen6. By reading their books it is apparent that each of such theories, suggests not a technical solution consisting of a list of orders to subordinate people, but a new method to be adopted by the whole Army. Moreover, ad absurdum theorems close both L. Carnot's and Clausewitz' theories7.

(iii) The above parallelisms are qualified in formal terms by the following feature: All these theories follow non-classical logic. According to recent studies in mathematicallogic,8 the law of double negation plays the role of a borderline between classical logic (where it holds true; e.g. "It is not true that 2+2 is not 4") and non-classical logic (where it fails; e.g. a court judgement of "lack of evidence" is not equivalent to its corresponding positive sentence, Le, of "honesty"). In the original texts by the authors of the above-mentioned scientific theories this feature is manifested by a lot of double negated sentences, whose corresponding positive sentences are not true for lack of scientific evidence. Some instances are the following ones: "It is impossible that matter is divisible in a not finite way" (Chemists of 19th Century); "The infinitesi-mals are not a chimerical (=not real) beings" (L. Carnot); "It is a perpetual (=without an end) motion" (L. and S. Carnot); "It is not contradictory to the hypothesis of two parallel lines to a given straight line." (Lobachevskit).

Nonviolence also is essentially merged in non­classical logic, since the word nonviolence is not one negation, but two negations-a negation of a lot of values -. This double negation cannot be appropriately substituted by a concrete, positive word. The best candidate, the word "Satyagraha" sublimates the original meaning in an abstract word, overhanging human life. Christian people commonly think that the positive word 'love' is equivalent-and even more meaningful - than "nonviolence"; yet, the word 'love' is fuzzy as it is proved by the social history of Christianity.9 Furthermore, any typical nonviolent slogan is appropriately expressed by two negations: e.g., "It is impossible that this enemy is not my brother". "It is not true that it is impossible!".

The original texts of each above-mentioned strategic theory presents a list of double negated sentences. Each list faithfully synthesises the core of the respective theory. This fact gives evidence for the crucial role played by double negations in the development of a theory aimed at solving conflicts positively.

Let us remark that even a scientific theory of the most intimate conflicts, I.e. Freud's psychoanalysis, shares the method of alternative sciences. A celebrated methodological paper illustrates the analysis of a patient's diseases as hinted by those sentences which a therapist obtains by adding a second negation to each patient's negated statement 10.

(iv) The whole synthetic method was qualified in semi-formal terms by L. Carnot as the method of the 'adjunctions' to a given system in order to generalise the system and make the search for a solution easier. Once obtained, the solution is moved to the initial system by suppressing the auxiliary variables. For instance, in infinitesimal analysis one adjoins-to a mathematical system to be solved-some auxiliary variables, commonly called infinitesimals. In mechanics, L. Carnot adjoined "geometrical motions", which in the easiest case are the changes of inertial reference systems; since these motions constitute a group of transformations, in fact Carnot started group theory. Fifty years after the celebrated Galois applied the same method to algebra by reiterating the same crucial word "adjunction".

In the theory of nonviolence, Aldo Capitini­the first European, nonviolent activist of 20th century offered a philosophical basis to Gandhian nonviolence. He examined the whole development of Western philosophy. According to him, after Kant recognised that human reason unsuccessfully attempted to know the essence of the beings of external world, the best part of philosophy converted to reach reality through rather an ethical involvement. By following a Kant's hint,11 Capitini puts the word "adjunction" as the most suitable one for representing this kind of ethical involvement. He considered the 'adjunction' as the typical action to be performed by "a follower of nonviolence" in order to raise the level of an even distressing situation, and to achieve a higher viewpoint from which to find out a Unitarian viewpoint12.

Among strategic theories, L. Carnot's defensive one is expressly based upon 'adjunctions'. When a stronghold is besieged by an invader following a dangerous step-by­step strategy, then the defender has to resort to the usual defensive activity - some quick 'sorties' for breaking this kind of strategy to preserve the command by step-by-step defence strategy.

In Freud's psychoanalysis, as "adjunctions" to the "system" of the patient it is easy to recognize patient's expositions of his dreams to the analyst 13.

The history of mechanical theories of collision of bodies suggests a nonviolent attitude : As a verification, I take a case study in the history of hard sciences. In mechanics-i.e. the main theory of the major science - two theories on collision is mutually completed in two centuries. The former one suggested by Wallis and Newton took as an ideal body the perfectly hard one, capable of not changing its shape, irrespective of how much violent is the collision; the latter theory is instead considered reference body, an elastic one, which is capable of preserving two common quantities, i.e. total momentum and total energy14. It is very remarkable that the notion of an elastic body was suggested by Leibniz - a committed pacifist - by remarking that in interpersonal relationships human beings preferably behave in a flexible way.15 In fact, collision theory was then completed according to the latter notion by the same L. Carnot, who is so relevant in all the above considerations. The main features of this theory are the same of synthetic method, which holds true as regards the theory of nonviolence too. In particular, while a hard body preserves an external feature of this single body, i.e. shape; instead, an elastic body preserves only some common features to which both opponents contribute (here, one may see a metaphor of preserving human rights, first the right of common survival); so that in this case an impact is transcended in an opportunity for a mutual exchange.

After two centuries of cultural dominance, in 1850 the son of L. Carnot, Sadi, gave birth to thermodynamic theory which eventually forced theorists to include in physics the conservation of energy as a basic law; as a consequence, the theory of hard bodies was discarded. 16 One may conclude that since a century the evolution of theoretical physics suggests a theory which invites us to adopt in the interpersonal relationships flexibility and some other features which all refer to nonviolence.

The pre-condition for connecting science and nonviolence : It may be surprising to have linked together a seemingly socio-psychological theory for managing conflicting relationships. i.e. nonviolent theory, and scientific natural theories.

One can justify this link by remarking that we argued concretely to the common myth on the essential unity of scientific thinking, which makes science an abstract and absolutely sure truth; so sure that it is capable of solving any conflict provided that we are able to formalise it in a scientific expertise. Earlier we recognised inside classical physics an essential conflict between at least two incommensurable traditions. In fact, even in the 20th Century physical theories a mutual incompatibility occurred between relativity and quantum mechanics. A conflict is evenly apparent inside logic, mathematics, economies, social sciences, medicine, etc.,17 In total, we may conclude that whole science includes (unresolved and impossible to solve) conflict between essentially different views on nature. That agrees with the Gita's teaching about human knowledge, as constituted by two irreducible chords, i.e. the Unity and the Infinity18.

When science is represented as including an essential conflict, its abstract and sure nature collapses in the nature of a mere human initiative, which, of course, may be analysed in a not different way than interpersonal relationships. In the past, Western civilisation led people to accommodate in a unitarian, organ is tic scheme all scientific theories on "reality" and at the same time to maintain as an inescapable necessity-at least, in extreme circumstances ­to consider enemies evil. At present, nonviolence teaches us that we have to change this attitude; i.e. we have to maintain that several systems of scientific thinking are at last incommensurable (likely as religious beliefs are) and instead of considering them ethically inescapable to be involved in a conciliation among conflicting persons, by viewing all of them inside an organistic, global unity, which constitutes the only true reality. That translates in theoretical terms what already Capitini suggested as the conversion of the philosophical mind into an ethical attitude.

As a verification, let us remember that recently a similar-since it is a global and conflicting viewpoint on scientific theories that has been reached by seeing all of them from a historical viewpoint, Koyre, Kuhn and some other historians stressed that history of science is essentially conflicting in nature19. By generalising the categories by both Koyre's and Kuhn's historiographies, I obtained new categories for a new historiography which are capable of faithfully representing the above illustrated conflict inside science20 Conversely, the conflicting theories of the history of science suggest a general theory of conflict resolution which results in both including the nonviolent theory and Galtung's theory 21.

Alternative Scientific Theories :

• Classical Chemistry

• Lazare Carnot's
  1. Mechanics
  2. Geometry
  3. Calculus

• Sadi Carnot's Thermodynamics

Alternative Strategies

• Sun Tzu

• Lazare Carnot (around 1800)

• Karl Von Clausewitz (around 1830)

Synthetic Method :
(1) Not Few Principles - Axioms.
But A Universal Problem
(2) Not An Infinite Number of Theorems, Drawn By Deductive Method;
Butthe Inductive Search Fora New Method
(3) Not Classical Logic;
But The Non-Classical Logic of The Double Negated Statements an ad Absurdum Theorem Nonviolence
(4) The Method of The 'Adjunction' Capitini (1899-1968)

Take for example the single scientific truth, be an experimental result or a law. It is the outcome from a (positively solved) conflict with nature; where the experimenter interacts with nature by means of an experimental apparatus built according to a clever hypothesis. No doubt that the experimenter feels such an action as a challenge with the whole reality, himself first (was his hypothesis an adequate one?) the material objects (was the experimental machinery a suitable one?) and the nature (does the hypothesis correspond to something in the external world?).

More relevant is the inner conflict in the resulting body oj knowledge the scientists built.

Someone may be surprised at so many links between nonviolence as a science of conflict resolution.

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Author :  Mr. Antonino Drago is Professor at University 'Federico II' Napoli, Italy and has been active in the field of nonviolence since 1962.

Article Source : Anuvibha Reporter ( Special Issue : Dec. 2000 )
Ahimsa, Peacemaking, Conflict Prevention and Management Proceedings and Presentations
Fourth International Conference on Peace and Nonviolent Action ( IV ICPNA )
New Delhi : Nov. 10-14, 1999

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