Guest Cathy Posted February 27, 2015 at 03:35 PM Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 at 03:35 PM I have always thought that consensus is agreement, but can include those who agree to disagree, such that they allow the decision to move forward even if they do not agree. Is this correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted February 27, 2015 at 03:58 PM Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 at 03:58 PM Consensus implies unanimous agreement. See p.l (that's a lower-case Roman numeral "L") in RONR for why requiring consensus is a bad idea. If you "agree to disagree" you're not agreeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Ralph Posted February 27, 2015 at 04:33 PM Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 at 04:33 PM I have always thought that consensus is agreement, but can include those who agree to disagree, such that they allow the decision to move forward even if they do not agree. Is this correct?The question is more suited to Philosophy 101 than a board of discussion on Robert's Rules of Order, which discourage "consensus" in favour of a good old majority vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted February 27, 2015 at 05:47 PM Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 at 05:47 PM Consensus implies unanimous agreement. See p.l (that's a lower-case Roman numeral "L") in RONR for why requiring consensus is a bad idea.I suppose that at one time the word may have implied unanimous agreement. However, I believe the usage or meaning has evolved somewhat to mean something closer to, but perhaps not quite the same thing as, majority opinion. I rather like these definitions on dictionary.com (and no, I'm not saying that this is the best authority!!): noun, plural consensuses. 1. majority of opinion: The consensus of the group was that they should meet twice a month. 2. general agreement or concord; harmony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted February 27, 2015 at 05:51 PM Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 at 05:51 PM I suppose that at one time the word may have implied unanimous agreement. However, I believe the usage or meaning has evolved somewhat to mean something closer to, but perhaps not quite the same thing as, majority opinion. I rather like these definitions on dictionary.com (and no, I'm not saying that this is the best authority!!): noun, plural consensuses. 1. majority of opinion: The consensus of the group was that they should meet twice a month.2. general agreement or concord; harmony. RONR Citation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted February 27, 2015 at 06:08 PM Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 at 06:08 PM RONR Citation?I thought I made it clear that it was a dictionary.com definition, but if you want a citation, here it is:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/consensus btw, I don't read guest Cathy's question as necessarily asking for an RONR definition of consensus. My point was simply, without even trying to reference RONR, to say that the meaning of "consensus" seems to have evolved from perhaps, in General Robert's day, meaning unanimity, to now meaning something more akin to majority opinion. I personally view it as meaning "majority opinion", but I purposely did not give my personal understanding of its meaning in my original post. And I was really replying to Edgar Guest's statement that consensus implies unanimous agreement. Maybe according to some people and some authorities, but not all. And maybe at one time but not so much now. I hope nobody has taken my comments to even hint that I disagree with the majority rule principle of parliamentary procedure and RONR. P..S. Give me a little time to look up a different RONR citation. A lot of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted February 27, 2015 at 07:23 PM Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 at 07:23 PM I don't read guest Cathy's question as necessarily asking for an RONR definition of consensus. But isn't that what one would expect from an RONR discussion forum? Surely she has access to a dictionary. I was really replying to Edgar Guest's statement that consensus implies unanimous agreement. Maybe according to some people and some authorities . . . Such as RONR? Our guest might find this discussion (from last June) of interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted February 27, 2015 at 07:52 PM Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 at 07:52 PM I have always thought that consensus is agreement, but can include those who agree to disagree, such that they allow the decision to move forward even if they do not agree. Is this correct?As noted, "consensus" is a term which RONR frowns upon, and it is not a requirement for anything in RONR, so I would not be too concerned with the intricacies of what it means.RONR does have something referred to as "unanimous consent" or "general consent," in which a motion is adopted if no member objects. RONR doesn't use the phrase "agree to disagree," but it does note that a member might not object even though he opposes the motion, because he knows that he would be fighting a losing battle. See RONR, 11th ed., pgs. 54-56.Of course, if unanimous consent fails, the motion may also be adopted by a formal vote - usually, by a majority vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.