Self-Development as a Spiritual Process: The Role of Empathy and Imagination in Finding Spiritual Orientation

According to a dialogical view on self, self-development is characterized by integrating different perspectives in the internal dialogue that constitutes the self. This article explores the spiritual dimension of this process, referring to exchanging and integrating perspectives on what makes one’s life meaningful or fulfilling. It is argued that empathy and imagination are basic capacities for self-development and spiritual orientation, and that art and religion can contribute to this process by functioning as languages of personal resonance.     

‘Bildung’ and Intercultural Understanding: A Dialogical Approach

In this introduction to the special issue on Bildung and dialogical self theory (DST), I explain why the notion of Bildung warrants elaboration in a special issue of the Journal of Constructivist Psychology. The concept of Bildung—for some, too apolitical and individualistic—gains significance by relating it to intercultural understanding as a prime challenge for plural societies in which cultural and religious diversity easily leads to confrontation and even violent conflict. The special issue offers an interdisciplinary discussion of the relevance of DST for this topic, of Bildung and humanism, and of the practice of intercultural adult education. In three articles, arguments for dialogical self as a prerequisite for intercultural adult education are placed within the broader context of pivotal discussions conducted within psychology, philosophy, and religious studies on the subject of our globalizing world.     

Introduction: The Dialogical Self in a Global and Digital Age

In this article, culture and self, like society and identity, are conceived as mutually inclusive. On the basis of this premise, self and identity are discussed in the context of an evolution toward a global and digital society. The core concept is the "dialogical self" that is described as a spatial and temporal process of positioning. Examples of multivoiced and dialogical selves are given in communities and cultures that lack advanced technological means. Apparently, the dialogical self is not an exclusive feature of the present era but a general human condition. Specific to the era is that dialogue is becoming increasingly mediated as a result of technological advances. Closely related to these advances, one can witness an increasing cultural complexity, mobility, and hybridization. It is argued that technological developments and global interconnectedness provide new opportunities for innovation of the self as multivoiced and dialogical. At the same time, such developments evoke counter forces that can close the self off from such opportunities. This article ends with a short introduction to the several contributions in this special issue.     

Radicalization in leadership from over-positioning to trans-positioning

This article explores how the term radicalization might be applied to leaders in a professional and business environment, and is based on three concepts: radicalization, over-positioning, and trans-positioning. Hermans refers to the phenomenon of radicalization as ‘over-positioning’ in terms of dialogical self theory (DST): one I-position dominating the entire system of self. From a theoretical perspective of DST ‘trans-positioning’ is introduced by Van Loon as metaphorically transposing one aspect of a position repertoire to another. The argument is elaborated that trans-positioning can be used in the service of deradicalization for the purpose of opening the system and improving wellbeing.     

From Pride to Cowardice: Obstacles to the Dialogical Classroom

Drawing on his own work in educational theory as well as his classroom experience, the author identifies important dialogical vices that he finds in his students: pride and cowardice. These vices are put both in the theoretical context of a greater understanding of the role of dialogue in learning and in the social context of the contemporary multicultural ethos from which the students come. In opposition to the vices, the author proposes dialogical virtues (humility, charity, and courage) and a concept of tolerance that help us to avoid pride and cowardice. In this way, we achieve genuine dialogue and multiculturalism and avoid what the author calls a pernicious multiculturalism     

The therapist's self in dialogical family therapy: some ideas about not-knowing and the therapist's inner conversation

In this article, the focus is on the therapist's self, which will be in line with Bakhtin's thinking, viewed as a dialogical self. First, the dialogical view of the self is situated in the context of psychology's traditional focus on the individual self. Then, leaning on Bakhtin and Volosinov, the self is described as a dialogue of multiple inner voices. Some of the implications of this concept for family therapy practice are examined, focusing especially on the therapist's participation in the therapeutic process and on the therapist's inner conversation. The author argues that not-knowing does not only refer to the therapist's receptivity and respect but also implies that the therapist is aware of his or her experience and reflects on how his or her inner conversation might inform and enrich the therapeutic conversation. Finally, these ideas are illustrated with a brief clinical vignette.     

Jungian dialogism and the problem of depth

Notions of dialogical inquiry and of the dialogical self have become increasingly influential in contemporary psychology in response to the limitations of the traditional view of monologically encapsulated and radically disengaged consciousness. Conceptions of self and inquiry as intrinsically embedded in and constituted by our shared life with others seem to do better justice to the richly interconnected character of contemporary life. At the same time, our highly interconnected global world has also tended to foster a flattening of cultural and inter‐cultural horizons that undermines dialogical engagement in any deeply meaningful sense. What is needed is to enrich current conceptions of dialogue with an understanding of experiential and cultural depth. This paper seeks an understanding of the depth dimensions of dialogue through an engagement of dialogical self theory with Jungian dialogical thought. Critical to this engagement is to appreciate the expressive potential of Jungian dialogism beyond Jung's theoretical claims about dialogue.     

A Service Member's Self in Transition: A Longitudinal Case Study Analysis

Adopting a narrative approach with a dialogical framework, a longitudinal case study is presented that describes a service member's self in transition from active service into the civilian population. An analysis and interpretation of the case study leads to the hypothesis that if a dominant military I-position appears in the self, a transition may initially create decentering movements of the self that in turn decrease integration and dialogical capacity of the self. New narrative concepts of who one is to become may take time to shape and anchor in corresponding I-position(s) of the self, and self-adaption may only reach a certain level of integration. However, the rise of a third position may unify two conflicting parts, or I-positions, of the self. This may prove to be a promising development for integration and dialogue of the self. Future research is encouraged that examines this hypothesis more broadly.     

Variations in Philosophical Genre: the Platonic Dialogue

The primary function of the Platonic dialogue is not the communication of philosophical doctrines but the transformation of the reader's character. This article takes up the question of how, or by what means, the Platonic dialogue accomplishes its transformative goal. An answer is developed as follows. First, the style of reading associated with analytical philosophy is not transformative, on account of its hermeneutical attachment and epistemic equality in the relationship between reader and author. Secondly, the style of reading associated with the genre of commentary is transformative because it is governed by a principle of authority. When the commentary model is applied to the Platonic dialogue, it can be seen that the dialogue mimics the function of the authority principle in transforming the reader into a commentator, that is, someone who reads from a position of detachment and accepts responsibility for himself as moral and epistemic agent.     

The Relational Genesis of Community: Self–Other Dialogue

Of late, there is increasing interest in the dialogical foundations of the self and community. Indeed, dialogical theory points to the embeddedness of community in self–other relations. This article proposes a dialogical approach to community that draws upon four key themes of discourse: the sociality of the self, the realm of interindividual relations, the constructive role of social representations, and the emergent properties of collective action. The ‘between’ constitutes a valuable concept for theorizing fundamental processes of relational existence and responsive meaning‐making, including the co‐constitution of community. In the process of coming into dialogic relation with one another, individuals construct meanings, experiences, and actions that profoundly shape both selfhood and community. Thus conceived, community is founded on dialogic interaction and intersubjective representation, thereby becoming the conscious object of reflection and action. The intention here is to theorize the relational genesis and continued transformation of community through self–other dialogue. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On Interaction Analysis and Dialogical Perspective: Emergent Patterns of Order and Relational Agency

This essay proposes to contribute with a continuing discussion on Grossen’s paper (2010) establishing a link between the analysis of interactions and dialogical perspective using what I call simplication-for-approaching-complexity (SFAC). This approach conceives of dialogical dynamics as a dynamic system of relationship that construct patterns. Moreover, these emergent patterns allow inferring the features of dialogical partners as relational agencies. The specific characteristics of the relational agency at any moment in dialogue can be inferred from the analysis of the specific pattern of order achieved by the historical development of dialogue. This proposal is illustrated by the analysis of mother-infant interactions.     

Fostering collaborative mind-sets among customers: a transformative learning approach

To succeed and grow, companies must win new customers. However, selling innovative solutions to prospective business customers remains challenging. We seek to explore how salespeople create, early in the sales process, collaborative customer mind-sets to accommodate learning and adoption of new solutions. By applying transformative learning theory and analyzing authentic video-recorded business-to-business (B2B) initial sales meetings, we are able to determine the microlevel processes and mechanisms taking place in transformative sales dialogue. In this article, we outline seven interactional activities occurring in reflective dialogue cycles, a key means by which salespeople create new customer mind-sets. Reflective dialogue cycles form a spiral-shaped process requiring completion to achieve a shared new understanding favorable to adopting new approaches. Through our analysis, we demonstrate the value of transformative learning theory in better understanding sales interactions. Along with theoretical contributions, our results may help managers and salespeople better develop new business customers.     

Culture and dialogue: Positioning,mediation or style?

Dialogicality has become a key notion in current cultural psychology. Strikingly, whereas mediational and semiotic thinkers have developed the dialogical view by emphasizing the role of psychological distancing in semiotic and dialogical processes, dialogical self-theorists following the work of Hermans remain caught up in a perspective that naively privileges non-mediated interaction. In this article I argue that both accounts lack an adequate ontological understanding of dialogicality. In looking for an alternative, I will first discuss how Bakhtin offers a spatial account of dialogicality that is quite different from the positional account proposed by DST. For an ontological explication of the deep dialogicality underlying all signification, I will then turn to Merleau-Ponty's ontology of flesh and show how it allows us to see our embodied presence as always already part of a field of divergences, a carnal intersubjectivity, by which we participate in a particular style of being. I argue that the work of Bakhtin and Merleau-Ponty allows us to recognize a primordial dialogicality in the stylized, poetic and deeply equivocal nature of human expression. This primordial dialogicality defies the logic of positioning and distancing and reveals a deeper entwinement of self and other, with different psychological and developmental implications than those of DST.     

Constructive Dialogical Pluralism: A Context of Interreligious Relations

This article presents current philosophical reflections on religious diversity and concomitant attitudes towards the interreligious situation. The motive behind this presentation is to show that in order to deal more efficiently with the phenomenon of religious plurality, there is a need for a development of the philosophy of religion, where new perspectives are opened up and explored. The very concept of religion as a belief system is put into question, since it has caused philosophical reflections on religious diversity to be confined to certain metaphysical and epistemological concerns. Instead of focusing on the noun ‘religion’, the article suggests a way to understand the adjective ‘religious’ and view religious plurality as a plurality of ways of being religious. This opens up a certain context of interreligious relations and interreligious dialogue, where this very dialogue itself can contribute to the development of philosophical tools, concepts and categories for dealing with the fact of plurality. I call this context constructive dialogical pluralism.     

“I Saw a Peach Tree in Full Bloom”: Transformative Spirituality and Mission in an Interreligious Context

The crisis in Sri Lanka, which is rooted in the politics of ethnicity and reached a new stage in May 2009 when the government forces militarily defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels, forms the backdrop to this article. Transformative spirituality in this context is demonstrated in the strong bond of friendship between the author, a Sri Lankan Sinhalese, and a colleague who is a Sri Lankan Tamil. The article draws upon four principles of transformative spirituality in the interreligious context articulated by Sri Lankan Jesuit priest Aloysius Pieris. First, it must take the context seriously, which, in the Sri Lankan context means its grinding poverty and its rich religious diversity, to which must now be added the devastating war that has just concluded. Second, robust interreligious dialogue requires that Christians look beyond typologies such as exclusivism, inclusivism and pluralism, and engage other religious traditions on their own terms. Third, unless religions engage with the other core‐to‐core, rather than engage the kernel of Christianity with the husk of Buddhism, there cannot be genuine transformative spirituality. Fourth, transformative spirituality is only possible when the core of Christianity meets the core of Buddhism in the praxis of liberation. Acknowledging that dialogue never engages only the participants' religious identity, but engages the other as a whole person with multiple identities, the article applies Pieris' interreligious dialogue principles to conflictual ethnic relations seeking to provide dialogue as a model for other types of reconciliation.     

Interaction Analysis and Psychology: A Dialogical Perspective

Interaction analysis is not a prerogative of any discipline in social sciences. It has its own history within each disciplinary field and is related to specific research objects. From the standpoint of psychology, this article first draws upon a distinction between factorial and dialogical conceptions of interaction. It then briefly presents the basis of a dialogical approach in psychology and focuses upon four basic assumptions. Each of them is examined on a theoretical and on a methodological level with a leading question: to what extent is it possible to develop analytical tools that are fully coherent with dialogical assumptions? The conclusion stresses the difficulty of developing methodological tools that are fully consistent with dialogical assumptions and argues that there is an unavoidable tension between accounting for the complexity of an interaction and using methodological tools which necessarily “monologise” this complexity.     

The Story of the Self in the Aftermath of Crisis: A Case Study

Adopting a dialogical framework, a case study is presented that explores the story of the self in the aftermath of crisis. An analysis and interpretation of the case study leads to the hypothesis that integration and dialogue through promoters, coalitions, and cooperation are needed in the process of reconstructing the story and the self. A cultural narrative may facilitate such a process. It is proposed that during these developments a new core position may arise that has the capacity to unite and reconcile the self while promoting growth in the aftermath of crisis. Future research is encouraged that examines this hypothesis more broadly.     

Transformations: The World Religions Survey through an Adjunct Feminist Lens

This essay describes a transformation in my experience as an adjunct teaching underprepared students from one of shame toward a desire to assert the value of this work. Insights from my feminist theological training helped me to affirm the importance of encouraging transformative learning in teaching the academically marginalized and prompted my analysis of student writing in an introductory World Religions course, in order to determine whether or not the course was a site of transformative learning. I argue that despite many contextual limitations, the movement toward deepening self‐awareness and increasing openness to religious diversity seen in student writing demonstrates that transformative learning began in this course, and that is valuable for students' lives whether or not they are academically successful.     

The relationship between learning environment and career competencies of students in vocational education

This article focuses on which aspects of the learning environment, aimed at fostering career learning, correspond with the development of career competencies among students (aged 12–19 years) enrolled in prevocational and secondary vocational education in The Netherlands. Aspects of the learning environment that are taken into account here are the following: career orientation and guidance methods used, instruments implemented, and the degree to which the curriculum is practice-based and dialogical. In the study, three career competencies are identified: career reflection (reflective behaviour), career forming (proactive behaviour), and networking (interactive behaviour). To research the relationship between the learning environment and the presence of career competencies, a study was done among 3499 students and 166 teachers in 226 classes in 34 schools. The results show that career guidance in school, in which a dialogue takes place with the student about concrete experiences and which is focused on the future, contributes most to the presence of career competencies among students. Without this dialogue, career guidance methods and instruments barely contribute to the acquisition of career competencies.