L’altro siamo noi
Abetini M, Cecchetto G, Mazza L. – Liceo Scientifico A. Einstein – AS 2014/2015
Table of Contents
1.
Working Method
2.
Definition of “Altro”
3.
Other Etymologies
4.
Diversity and Fear
5.
The Listening
6.
The Dialogue
Working Method
 Study the texts and documents given by teachers;
 Autonomous research on additional contents (texts and images);
 Work sharing
 Preparatory draft for presentation plan
 Final presentation
Definition of “Altro”
From Latin alter, ( = other) (sometimes reinforced with ben or tutto): In a comparison,
the second term is introduced with: da, rispetto, a, che; it is sometimes postponed to
underline difference: “una cultura altra”
Indicates someone or something other, different from something else it is referring to
directly or indirectly.
Other Etymologies
• Estraneo  Estran-io:
Freud’s unheimlich  sentiment of anguish that reveals itself once
something is perceived at the same time familiar and “foreign”
• Relazione con l’altro  multiple determinations of “I” 
contributes to define the borders of one’s identity  Altro da sé
• Conception of the other according to Edmon Jabès: The other has
always lived in me  I and the Other are the same person 
“L’uomo è indigeno e straniero”:
1. indigeno  from Latin indigenum, native of the place where he
lives
2. straniero  from Latin extraneum, extraneous, also meant as
“enemy”
• Extracomunitario  it refers to somenoe who does not belong to
European Union
Diversity and Fear
 Existence of opposite feelings, human attitude to exclude everything
different according to one’s culture, moral, religion or customs:
 When you look at the Other only through the lens of your our culture,
it is easy to produce misunderstandings or mature intolerance.
 Claude Lévi-Strauss:
“L’etnocentrismo è positivo se significa non mettere da parte la propria
storia e la propria cultura, ma è negativo se tale cultura è assolutizzata
fino ad assurgere a identità perentoria e immutabile.”
 It means neither “to forget your own cultural identity”, nor to feel
guilty, but also not what the Other is right from the start
Listening to
DEFINITION
From the root Auris ”Ear", conversational Latin.
The word “ascolto” comes from “ascoltare” (to hear) , itself coming from
the Latin word "auscultare", basically “listening with the ear”.
The traditional meaning of the word refers to the action of listening ad
also to the result of the action itself.
Therefore it is closely related to the focus of the subject.
Listening to
Listening to a foreigner does not mean simply to get information about
him but also to open to his story.
Indeed, a foreigner stops to be such once you try to listen to him
understanding his diversity.
Therefore the interlocutor is expected to suspend or abandon his
prejudices.
Whenever one does that he/she is able to consider him /her with sympátheia (sym-pátheia =«feel-with him»).
Understanding the Other’s position displays both people’s humanity :
the speaker and the interlocutor as a sharing attitude and behaviour.
Dialogue
DEFINITION
Dialogue: from Greek dià-lógos (dià, ”through" e logos, ”question"),
indicates the verbal interaction between two or more people, it is a
useful way to express feelings or debate ideas.
Dialogue
FUNCTION:
Dialogue is not only a way to express feelings and differences, but also a
tool to share values, not necessarily to adopt them but surely to
understand them.
Speaking is not a way to abolish differences, but to accept them
Dialogue does not tend to approval, but to mutual progress.
Thus dialogue allows borders to get down, to find new paths and to
follow new routes.
Bibliography
• E. Bianchi, L’ Altro siamo noi, Einaudi, 2010
• https://it.wikipedia.org
• http://www.etimo.it/