Dialogue
Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in
Etymology
The term dialogue stems from the Greek διάλογος (dialogos, conversation); its roots are διά (dia: through) and λόγος (logos: speech, reason). The first extant author who uses the term is Plato, in whose works it is closely associated with the art of dialectic.[3] Latin took over the word as dialogus.[4]
As genre
Antiquity
Dialogue as a genre in the Middle East and Asia dates back to ancient works, such as Sumerian disputations preserved in copies from the late third millennium BC,[5] Rigvedic dialogue hymns, and the Mahabharata.
In the West,
Plato further simplified the form and reduced it to pure
Following Plato, the dialogue became a major literary genre in antiquity, and several important works both in Latin and in Greek were written. Soon after Plato,
Japan
In the East, in 13th century Japan, dialogue was used in important philosophical works. In the 1200s, Nichiren Daishonin wrote some of his important writings in dialogue form, describing a meeting between two characters in order to present his argument and theory, such as in "Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin 1: pp. 99–140, dated around 1256), and "On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land" (Ibid., pp. 6–30; dated 1260), while in other writings he used a question and answer format, without the narrative scenario, such as in "Questions and Answers about Embracing the Lotus Sutra" (Ibid., pp. 55–67, possibly from 1263). The sage or person answering the questions was understood as the author.
Modern period
Two French writers of eminence borrowed the title of Lucian's most famous collection; both
In Germany, Wieland adopted this form for several important satirical works published between 1780 and 1799. In Spanish literature, the Dialogues of Valdés (1528) and those on Painting (1633) by Vincenzo Carducci are celebrated. Italian writers of collections of dialogues, following Plato's example, include Torquato Tasso (1586), Galileo (1632), Galiani (1770), Leopardi (1825), and a host of others.[10]
In the 19th century, the French returned to the original application of dialogue. The inventions of "
The
In the 20th century, philosophical treatments of dialogue emerged from thinkers including Mikhail Bakhtin, Paulo Freire, Martin Buber, and David Bohm. Although diverging in many details, these thinkers have proposed a holistic concept of dialogue.[16] Educators such as Freire and Ramón Flecha have also developed a body of theory and techniques for using egalitarian dialogue as a pedagogical tool.[17]
As topic
Martin Buber assigns dialogue a pivotal position in his theology. His most influential work is titled I and Thou.[18] Buber cherishes and promotes dialogue not as some purposive attempt to reach conclusions or express mere points of view, but as the very prerequisite of authentic relationship between man and man, and between man and God. Buber's thought centres on "true dialogue", which is characterised by openness, honesty, and mutual commitment.[19]
The
The
In his influential works, Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin provided an extralinguistic methodology for analysing the nature and meaning of dialogue:[24]
Dialogic relations have a specific nature: they can be reduced neither to the purely
logical (even if dialectical) nor to the purely linguistic (compositional-syntactic) They are possible only between complete utterances of various speaking subjects... Where there is no word and no language, there can be no dialogic relations; they cannot exist among objects or logical quantities (concepts, judgments, and so forth). Dialogic relations presuppose a language, but they do not reside within the system of language. They are impossible among elements of a language.[25]
The Brazilian educationalist Paulo Freire, known for developing popular education, advanced dialogue as a type of pedagogy. Freire held that dialogued communication allowed students and teachers to learn from one another in an environment characterised by respect and equality. A great advocate for oppressed peoples, Freire was concerned with praxis—action that is informed and linked to people's values. Dialogued pedagogy was not only about deepening understanding; it was also about making positive changes in the world: to make it better.[26]
As practice
Dialogue is used as a practice in a variety of settings, from
In the United States, an early form of dialogic learning emerged in the
Egalitarian dialogue
Egalitarian dialogue is a concept in dialogic learning. It may be defined as a dialogue in which contributions are considered according to the validity of their reasoning, instead of according to the status or position of power of those who make them.[30]
Structured dialogue
Structured dialogue represents a class of dialogue practices developed as a means of orienting the dialogic discourse toward problem understanding and
Aleco Christakis (who created structured dialogue design) and John N. Warfield (who created science of generic design) were two of the leading developers of this school of dialogue.[32] The rationale for engaging structured dialogue follows the observation that a rigorous bottom-up democratic form of dialogue must be structured to ensure that a sufficient variety of stakeholders represents the problem system of concern, and that their voices and contributions are equally balanced in the dialogic process.
Structured dialogue is employed for complex problems including
In one deployment, structured dialogue is (according to a European Union definition) "a means of mutual communication between governments and administrations including EU institutions and young people. The aim is to get young people's contribution towards the formulation of policies relevant to young peoples lives."[35] The application of structured dialogue requires one to differentiate the meanings of discussion and deliberation.
Groups such as Worldwide Marriage Encounter and Retrouvaille use dialogue as a communication tool for married couples. Both groups teach a dialogue method that helps couples learn more about each other in non-threatening postures, which helps to foster growth in the married relationship.[36]
Dialogical leadership
The German philosopher and classicist Karl-Martin Dietz emphasises the original meaning of dialogue (from Greek dia-logos, i.e. 'two words'), which goes back to Heraclitus: "The logos [...] answers to the question of the world as a whole and how everything in it is connected. Logos is the one principle at work, that gives order to the manifold in the world."[37] For Dietz, dialogue means "a kind of thinking, acting and speaking, which the logos "passes through""[38] Therefore, talking to each other is merely one part of "dialogue". Acting dialogically means directing someone's attention to another one and to reality at the same time.[39]
Against this background and together with Thomas Kracht, Karl-Martin Dietz developed what he termed "
Separately, and earlier to Thomas Kracht and Karl-Martin Dietz, Rens van Loon published multiple works on the concept of dialogical leadership, starting with a chapter in the 2003 book The Organization as Story.[41]
Moral dialogues
Moral dialogues are social processes which allow societies or communities to form new shared moral understandings. Moral dialogues have the capacity to modify the moral positions of a sufficient number of people to generate widespread approval for actions and policies that previously had little support or were considered morally inappropriate by many. Communitarian philosopher Amitai Etzioni has developed an analytical framework which—modelling historical examples—outlines the reoccurring components of moral dialogues. Elements of moral dialogues include: establishing a moral baseline; sociological dialogue starters which initiate the process of developing new shared moral understandings; the linking of multiple groups' discussions in the form of "megalogues"; distinguishing the distinct attributes of the moral dialogue (apart from rational deliberations or culture wars); dramatisation to call widespread attention to the issue at hand; and, closure through the establishment of a new shared moral understanding.[42] Moral dialogues allow people of a given community to determine what is morally acceptable to a majority of people within the community.
See also
Notes
- ^ See entry on "dialogue (n)" in the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed.
- ISBN 978-0824800789.
- ^ Jazdzewska, K. (1 June 2015). "From Dialogos to Dialogue: The Use of the Term from Plato to the Second Century CE". Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies. 54 (1): 17–36.
- ^ "Dialogue", Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition
- ^ G. J., and H. L. J. Vanstiphout. 1991. Dispute Poems and Dialogues in the Ancient and Mediaeval Near East: Forms and Types of Literary Debates in Semitic and Related Literatures. Leuven: Department Oriëntalistiek.
- ^ a b Gosse 1911.
- ^ Kutzko 2012, p. 377.
- ^ Kutzko 2012, p. 381.
- ^ Nairn, John Arbuthnot (1904). The Mimes of Herodas. Clarendon Press. p. ix.
- ^ a b c d Gosse, Edmund (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 156–157.
- ISBN 9780877790426.
- ISBN 9780486274959.
- ISBN 978-9004091559.
- ^ Craig, Hardin; Thomas, Joseph M. (1929). "Walter Savage Landor". English Prose of the Nineteenth Century. p. 215.
- ISBN 9780826497574.
- ISBN 9789027210296.
- ^ Flecha, Ramón (2000). Sharing Words: Theory and Practice of Dialogic Learning. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
- ISBN 978-1846941856.
- ISBN 978-0791406236.
- ^ Nolan 2006.
- ^ Nolan 2006, p. 30.
- ^ Nolan 2006, p. 174.
- ISBN 978-0307483782.
- ^ Maranhão 1990, p.51
- ^ Bakhtin 1986, p.117
- ISBN 9781623566890.
- ^ Bird, Otto A.; Musial, Thomas J. (1973). "Great Books Programs". Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. Vol. 10. pp. 159–160.
- ^ Jon, Ronson (6 December 2014). "Shimer College: The Worst School in America?". Guardian.
- ^ "Why SJC?". St. John's College. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Flecha, Ramon(2000). Sharing Words. Theory and Practice of Dialogic Learning. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
- ISBN 978-1849807388.
- ISBN 978-3319040936.
- ISBN 978-1136272851.
- ISBN 978-9287165763.
- ^ "Definition of structured dialogue focused on youth matters". Archived from the original on 14 November 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
- ISBN 978-0876309131.
- ^ Karl-Martin Dietz: Acting Independently for the Good of the Whole. From Dialogical Leadership to a Dialogical Corporate Culture. Heidelberg: Menon 2013. p. 10.
- ^ Dietz: Acting Independently for the Good of the Whole. p. 10.
- ^ Karl-Martin Dietz: Dialog die Kunst der Zusammenarbeit. 4. Auflage. Heidelberg 2014. p. 7.
- ^ a b Karl-Martin Dietz, Thomas Kracht: Dialogische Führung. Grundlagen - Praxis Fallbeispiel: dm-drogerie markt. 3. Auflage. Frankfurt am Main: Campus 2011.
- ISBN 9789023239468.
- ISBN 978-3-319-69623-2.
Bibliography
- Bakhtin, M. M. (1986) Speech Genres and Other Late Essays. Trans. by Vern W. McGee. Austin, Tx: University of Texas Press.
- Kutzko, David (2012). "In pursuit of Sophron". In Bosher, Kathryn (ed.). Theater Outside Athens: Drama in Greek Sicily and South Italy. p. 377. ISBN 9780521761789.
- Hösle, Vittorio (2013): The Philosophical Dialogue: a Poetics and a Hermeneutics. Trans. by Steven Rendall. Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame Press.
- Maranhão, Tullio (1990) The Interpretation of Dialogue University of Chicago Press ISBN 0-226-50433-6
- Nolan, Ann Michele (2006). A Privileged Moment: Dialogue in the Language of the Second Vatican Council. p. 276. ISBN 978-3039109845.
- E. Di Nuoscio, "Epistemologia del dialogo. Una difesa filosofica del confronto pacifico tra culture", Carocci, Roma, 2011
- Suitner, Riccarda (2022) The Dialogues of the Dead of the Early German Enlightenment. Trans. by Gwendolin Goldbloom. Leiden-Boston: Brill
External links
- "National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation". ncdd.org.
- "Strengthening Canadian Democracy | SFU Centre for Dialog". democracydialogue.ca. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2020.