Using Logic to Communicate about Conflicting Interests among Parties
Frieder Lempp · 2014
Conflicts can be understood as inconsistent sets of goals, values, beliefs, emotions, or the like. Conflict resolution, then, becomes a process of identifying the inconsistencies that constitute a conflict and transforming them. It is the task of conflict resolution practitioners to facilitate a process which encourages parties to transform their goals, beliefs, values, and emotions into a consistent set that is more or less acceptable to all parties. In the first part of this chapter, I present a model, based on propositional logic, which can help to identify the relationships between conflicting parties’ interests. In particular, it can be used to determine whether two interests are inconsistent with each other. Underlying this model is the assumption that interests can be reconstructed as propositional attitudes, i.e. relational mental states that connect an individual to a proposition. In the second part, I show how the model can be used to generate possible solutions to a conflict. Different solution algorithms can generate different types of solutions, such as compromise solutions, minimally invasive solutions, or solutions that are compatible with certain predefined norms. The generated solutions can serve as a source of inspiration for resolving a conflict and can be proposed to the parties for discussion. The propositional model is simpler than game-theoretic models of conflict and requires a lower level of quantification as it is not based on numerical utility functions. Due to its simplicity, the model can be used within an integrative negotiation or mediation process to engage parties in a dialogue about their conflicting interests and preferred principles of conflict resolution.