The good and common sense |1

Running Head: The Good and Common Sense

Who Determines the Good and Common Sense Leah Beth Parsons Queens University of Charlotte December 9th, 2010

When I was a little girl my mother always asked me to share my belongings, to be kind toward others, and to maintain an open, yet strong, belief system. I did

The good and common sense |2 not know at the time that my mother was introducing me to the study of communication. In this field, we learn that each individual has a different view and conception of reality. This reality is based upon a persons culture, their life experiences, and who they are as an individual. There are no two people that are absolutely alike and with the understanding of that notion, we can work toward developing a better understanding of the study of communication ethics. There are multiple ideas and definitions of communication ethics, due to various perceptions of reality. However, each definition assumes an understanding of a good that underlies communication ethics practices Communication ethics assumes the importance of the Other, highlighting the consequences of questions about how to engage competing views of the good (Arnett, Fritz & Bell, 2009). Even though individuals have various opinions of reality and what they consider to be good, we still live in a society where we must respect and work with one another. Therefore it is important for each community to have basic assumptions. This year our class read Communication Ethics Literacy: Dialogue and Difference. In this book, it states: the knowing and doing of common practices invites common sense; without the collective knowing and doing of given practices, common sense is not a connecting link between persons (Arnett, Fritz and Bell, 2009). A community of any sort cannot properly function, unless the members within that community have a basic understanding of what is considered acceptable and ethical. A communication ethic lives wherever there is a common agreement among persons about the knowing and/or the doing of practices that protect a given sense of the good (2009).

The good and common sense |3 A community, according to Webster, can be defined as a body of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through a larger society (Webster, 2010). Every city, town, organization, and office building holds a community. These communities vary from place, office and organization; however, a recurring commonality is that each member within the shared community has a clear understanding of what is and is not accepted. These are the goods that are protected and promoted by the individuals within the community. In the film Legally Blonde directed by Robert Lucketic, there are a multitude of communities and relationships that could be dissected: sororities, families, friendships and so forth. For the purpose of this discussion I would like to focus on one; the work/classroom community and the relationship between Elle Woods, the lead character who is a law student at Harvard Law, and Dr. Callahan, her professor and employer. This breaks all pre-conceived assumptions of the blonde stereotype. At first Elle Woods appears to be a typical blonde. She is beautiful, bubbly, fashionable, and fun; traits incorporated into the usual blonde stereotype. However, she is also smart, determined, and not easily persuaded. She has an idea of the good and she does not compromise her idea of the good to better her professional, academic, or social status. Dr. Callahan is an established professor of law as well as a practicing lawyer. He pushes his students to work hard and think outside the box. Viewers initially believe he is a man of character who is there to help his students. In a turn of events, it is discovered that Dr. Callahan readily uses his position of power to get

The good and common sense |4 what wants from others, even if this desire is not beneficial to the other subjects. He does not listen to others opinions and in this way is not a true community member. Communication is built around open dialogue. With the incorporation of open dialogue, a community is able to function and the people within the community are able to express their opinions and beliefs without fear of criticism. This dialogue is necessary because communication ethics takes on pragmatic currency: we must learn about other views of the good with recognition that, like it or not, multiple views of the good exist and contend for attention in the ongoing postmodern marketplace of ideas (Arnett, Fritz and Bell, 2009). There is a scene in Legally Blonde where Elle has learned the name and truth behind the clients alibi. She has been asked by the client to keep this information confidential, and the only reason the client discussed shared the name of the alibi is because she trusts and respects Elle. When Dr. Callahan asks Elle for the name of the alibi she refuses to give it up. Her good in this situation, is keeping the trust of the client. Dr. Callahan, of course, is infuriated and does not understand why Elle would conceal this information. Trust from a client is not an aspect he considers to be a protected and promoted good. Other students try to persuade Elle to turn in the name, by telling her that if she does she is sure to receive an A in the class and be offered full-time position at the firm. However, because trust is a good that Elle believes should be protected and promoted, she is not persuaded. This is the first of many conflicting views of the good within this community. Because Dr. Callahan was unwilling to open his mind to Elles opinion, conflict and tension aroused. He stormed out of the room and ordered the remaining law students to reason with her. Because of his position of power, this caused the others

The good and common sense |5 to also look down on Elle, causing division and tension in the room. Luckily, Emmett, who works with Dr. Callahan and eventually becomes Elles boyfriend, is willing to look at both sides of the situation to ease the tension. He promises Dr. Callahan that he will work with Elle and keep an eye on her. In the end, he sees that Elles good, trust, is what is best for the community and the client. In this scene the assumed common sense by the law community is to do whatever is necessary to win the case. The so called good is the win. Elle has not bought into the communitys idea of the good or their assumption of common sense. She does not understand why one individual would do something to hurt another individual, even if the action is intended to help both parties. She believes that the most appropriate action in this situation is to find an alternative means to win the case. An alibi is the easy way out, and to quote Elle then we arent very good lawyers if that is the only way we are able to win the case. Again Elle and Dr. Callahan have varying viewpoints pertaining to the idea of common sense. It should be remember, however, that there are different opinions of common sense, and each individual has a right to what they do and do not believe. A strong community is willing to listen to one another, take one anothers ideas and find a common ground. There is a point when Dr. Callahan gives in to Elles ideas, with a little bit of persuasion from Emmett. A witness states that he and the client have been having an affair. However, Elle realizes that this man is gay; therefore, he is lying about the alleged affair. When she presents this idea to Dr. Callahan he, at first, refuses to listen. Then Emmett asks if he can step in and ask the witness a few questions. Because Emmett is willing to think outside of the box and listen to Elle, the court is

The good and common sense |6 able to see that this witness was lying about the affair, adding credibility to the clients story. From this scene, we see the importance of listening to others, thinking outside the box, and allowing all members of the community to express their ideas. If no one had listened to Elle, then this witness could have cost Dr. Callahan the case. Remember learning is the first principle of communication ethics in an era without a universal understanding of what constitutes common sense (Arnett, Fritz & Bell, 2009). If we are willing to learn from others we are better able to discover the best answer/conclusion for any situation and issue. Later in that same evening, Dr. Callahan asks Elle if she would come to his office to talk about her future. At that point he begins to praise her for the work she has accomplished, explains that he should have listened to her and her ideas. Dr. Callahan goes on to tell Elle that he believes she has a future in law because of how she thinks and acts, she has intuition. In that same thought he says that the key to a becoming a successful lawyer is being able to understand what it takes to get to the top. Afterward, he places his hand on Elles knee and begins to slide it toward her body. She looks at him stunned and brushes his hand off her leg, then gets up to leave. She is upset with him, the community, and the way she was viewed. There are a number of ethical dilemmas in this situation. First, we have a man who is in a position of power who uses his power for his own desires, even if they are frowned upon by the educational community. Most universities have an unspoken rule that it is wrong for faculty to fraternize with students. Dr. Callahan broke the assumed rule, in order to meet his own needs. If the agreed upon good within a community is compromised, then the community is faced with an ethical

The good and common sense |7 dilemma. Elle felt forced to leave Harvard Law School, despite her desire to become a lawyer, because one man decided his desires were more important than the desires of those around him. Dr. Callahan went against the agreed upon good and divided the community; without the collective knowing and doing of given practices, common sense is not a connecting link between persons (Arnett, Fritz & Bell, 2009). He believed that his wants were greater than the communitys agreed upon good and idea of common sense. Because of this, the community turned their back on Dr. Callahan and ousted him from the court room. When the client found out what had happened, she fired Callahan and hired Elle, and Elles colleagues began to recognize the good in Elle, offering to stand by her as the trial concluded. Elle was steadfast in expressing her ideas of the good. However, she listened and respected others ideas as well. Walter Fisher, a communication theorist, believes that we need to be able to articulate and offer a public account of the good in which we believe and that propels our communicative action in public and private life (Arnett, Fritz & Bell, 2009). Elle followed this idea. She expressed her beliefs, explained to others the wrong doing that occurred and respected others ideas. Because of this, people were eventually able to sympathize and respect her view of the good. This semester our class has learned that communication ethics in a time of disagreement finds a temporal ground a place to stand for the moment recognizing that this ground of agreement may shift later Acknowledging that our learning requires a dialogic openness to listening to anothers point of view opens a space for finding common ground in postmodernity (Arnett, Fritz & Bell, 2009). We

The good and common sense |8 are in a society and community that allows and calls for multiple ideas of the good. It is important for each community member to be open, willing to listen, and non-judgmental, in order to find a common good to promote and protect. Although these goods may modify with time, with open dialogue these changes are able to be made smoothly. Communication ethics is a complicated topic because there are multiple views and ideas of what is right, wrong, considered to be the good, and considered to be common sense. Therefore, its almost impossible to speak the language of communication ethics in black and white. Every situation, action, and person may see the good in a different light. Legally Blonde is a film that identifies the importance of staying open to new ideas, listening to those around us, and respecting others. Each person is different but Humans need to interact with others to learn from them (Arnett, Fritz & Bell, 2009). References Arnett et al. (2009). Communication ethics literacy: Dialogue and difference Kidney, M., & Luketic, R. (2001). Legally Blonde. United States: Metro-GoldwynMayer Pictures. Kolb, D., Williams, J. & Frohlinger, C. (2004). Her place at the table: a womans guide to negotiating five key challenges to leadership success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications

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