Making a Point

I heard a speech this morning from a Japanese business woman on the point of communication. She stated that there were three main purposes of communication: 1. logic (perhaps relay information?); 2. to create sympathy or empathy; 3. to encourage faith, reliance and trust.

I recently finished Dr. Werner Gitt's book, In The Beginning Was Information. Dr. Gitt argues that the last and final point of communication is create an action. It is a response to the information given. Information must have a sender and receiver. The sender seeks an action from the receiver, physical, mental, emotional or spiritual.

There is a small difference in these two definitions. The first, which doubtless is subtly molded by culture and perhaps ethics, is concerned with only the sender, the one speaking (writing, etc). The sender wishes to tell something. The sender seeks sympathy, which is really concerned with self (not a good or bad kind of selfish, simply one sided). Lastly, the communicator is looking to inspire trust and reliance, which is not always towards oneself, but usually, and in the case of this speaker I believe it was. All three purposes of communication that are given here are all very egocentric, whereas Dr. Gitt points out that the result, though intended by the sender, is not necessarily concerned with such past the transmission. It may be for the receiver's full benefit.
Altruistic information in a sense. The greatest example being the Word of God.

Making my point, our culture and other shaping religious influences mold our thought patterns. Sometimes so deeply that only the Hand of God can bring us out of ourselves. Humility has far reaching effects; pride, it seems, has even deeper roots.