The Pfeiffer Book of Successful Conflict Management Tools

Chapter 3.4. Trust-Orientation Profile

Myron R. Chartier

Background

Trust is the basis of human relationships; it grounds much of intellectual and scientific research; and it supports the ethical norms of human behavior. Indeed, trust is fundamental to much human experience. Yet, if one looks at the history of human thinking, from the radical doubt of Descartes to the nihilism of modern philosophy, one discovers that this fundamental human attitude is a rare commodity. Gibb (1978, p. 13) writes: " . . .our present national culture—social, economic, even artistic, as well as political—is inhospitable to trust." Global and cultural realities do not reinforce efforts to build trust. Terrorist activities around the world and the displacement of people ...