Editorial Introduction
In providing a platform for intellectually rigorous engagement with dialogue, undertaken from starting points in a wide range of academic disciplines and in relation to a wide variety of contexts, the Journal of Dialogue Studies presents editions that seek to focus on particular aspects of dialogue and its conduct. Bearing in mind a phrase from the journal’s overall working proposition that at the heart of dialogue is a ‘meaningful interaction and exchange between people’, because of its involvement with people, dialogue almost inevitably entails ethical dimensions. Therefore this edition of the journal seeks to open up and critically explore some of the ethical dimensions of dialogue, from various disciplinary perspectives and with reference to various contexts. In addressing this, contributions are made by writers with backgrounds in various national contexts including Israel, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
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xWeller, Paul "Editorial Introduction." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1, ( May 2015 ): 5-7. Print.
Weller, P. ( May 2015 ). Editorial Introduction. Journal of Dialogue Studies, 3(1), 5-7.
Weller, Paul "Editorial Introduction." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1 ( May 2015 ): 5-7.
“Holding Oneself Open in a Conversation” – Gadamer’s Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Ethics of Dialogue
This paper’s aim is to explore Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics in order to draw out implications for the ethics of dialogue. Through examining key interconnected components in Gadamer’s theory, I highlight the openness to the other and otherness as a key normative ideal for dialogic understanding and their influence on the core practical ethos that underpins dialogue encounter, including the ethics of alterity, self-cultivation, equality, reciprocity, and solidarity. We further consider hermeneutical application or praxis by way of a guide insofar as to how one might act in the world through dialogue construed through these ethical dimensions.
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xGill, Scherto "“Holding Oneself Open in a Conversation” – Gadamer’s Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Ethics of Dialogue." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1, ( May 2015 ): 9-28. Print.
Gill, S. ( May 2015 ). “Holding Oneself Open in a Conversation” – Gadamer’s Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Ethics of Dialogue. Journal of Dialogue Studies, 3(1), 9-28.
Gill, Scherto "“Holding Oneself Open in a Conversation” – Gadamer’s Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Ethics of Dialogue." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1 ( May 2015 ): 9-28.
The Origin of Intercultural Dialogue Practice in European Union External Action
This paper analyses the origin of the practice of ‘intercultural dialogue’ as a tool for European Union external action towards the Mediterranean. ICD is currently a relevant instrument in EU external relations. However, when it was first launched in 1995, in the policy initiative known as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership or the Barcelona Process, ICD was granted little effort by the partners involved. Many accounts from that period agree that this tool initially took a back seat if compared to other political-economic priorities in the EU agenda in this initiative. The paper aims to investigate the reasons for the initial neglect of this tool, which was considered by many to be a relevant innovation when it was launched, but that has actually become a relevant resource for EU external action only recently. Through analysis of EU policy documents of the period, the paper demonstrates that the EU had envisaged strategic use of ICD before 1995, in particular, in the hope of tackling key issues, such as mounting xenophobia in Europe and escalating Islamic fundamentalism in the Maghreb. It thus identifies a dual explanation for the limited and ineffective scope attributed to ICD in the first years of the Barcelona Process. On the one hand, in 1995 a number of Mediterranean partner countries were reluctant to lend much credit to the intercultural aspects of regional cooperation, and, on the other, the EU at that time had a growing but still restrained perception of urgency for the emerging issues that ICD was designed to address.
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xPerini, Pietro d. "The Origin of Intercultural Dialogue Practice in European Union External Action." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1, ( May 2015 ): 29-56. Print.
Perini, P. d. ( May 2015 ). The Origin of Intercultural Dialogue Practice in European Union External Action. Journal of Dialogue Studies, 3(1), 29-56.
Perini, Pietro d. "The Origin of Intercultural Dialogue Practice in European Union External Action." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1 ( May 2015 ): 29-56.
Dialogue as a Tool for Racial Reconciliation: Examining Racialised Frameworks
In this paper, I draw on my experiences as facilitator of a seven-week intergroup dialogue on race to explore the role of dialogue as a tool for racial reconciliation, particularly in the context of domestic U.S. race relations. Additionally, I examine and raise questions about the cultural frameworks and assumptions that shape dialogue processes and methodologies: is the dialogue framework (as a conflict resolution tool) inherently racialised? How are power imbalances addressed in a dialogue setting, and how do these power imbalances influence opportunities for racial reconciliation? I posit that the dialogue framework has been constructed through a culturally/racially biased lens that privileges ‘White Talk’ characteristics, and does not adequately address power imbalances. As power imbalances are not effectively addressed in a dialogue setting, opportunities for genuine and comprehensive racial reconciliation (as defined by leading reconciliation scholars) are limited. Ultimately, I argue that dialogue alone is not enough to reach a genuine and sustainable process for racial reconciliation. Mechanisms to address structural inequality and power disparities at the societal level must be in place together with the interpersonal reconciliation that takes place within dialogue settings.
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xNagai-Rothe, Elli "Dialogue as a Tool for Racial Reconciliation: Examining Racialised Frameworks." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1, ( May 2015 ): 57-69. Print.
Nagai-Rothe, E. ( May 2015 ). Dialogue as a Tool for Racial Reconciliation: Examining Racialised Frameworks. Journal of Dialogue Studies, 3(1), 57-69.
Nagai-Rothe, Elli "Dialogue as a Tool for Racial Reconciliation: Examining Racialised Frameworks." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1 ( May 2015 ): 57-69.
The Buberian Dialogical Man as a Struggler in the Field of Existential Choice
This essay presents the perception of dialogical teaching models as one which is concerned primarily with the cognitive layers of the dialogue, and focuses on the cognitive functions of learning, information processing, interpretation and decision making. This perception is presented in the essay as ignoring the relational dimensions of the dialogue. On the other hand, the essay argues that research attempts to offer non-cognitive dialogical models which focus on the interpersonal aspect, while emphasising relations such as containment and empathy, do not necessarily contribute to the realisation of an educational dialogue and may block the creation of the ‘sphere of the between,’ which is essential to the development of genuine dialogue. The essay suggests referring to the existential approach and argues that the choice of dialogical relation is one that involves a powerful and continuous existential struggle between the ‘I-Thou’ and the ‘I-it’ modes of relation.
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xDaniely, Dvora L. "The Buberian Dialogical Man as a Struggler in the Field of Existential Choice." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1, ( May 2015 ): 71-88. Print.
Daniely, D. L. ( May 2015 ). The Buberian Dialogical Man as a Struggler in the Field of Existential Choice. Journal of Dialogue Studies, 3(1), 71-88.
Daniely, Dvora L. "The Buberian Dialogical Man as a Struggler in the Field of Existential Choice." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1 ( May 2015 ): 71-88.
Tribal Morality and the Ethical Other: The Tension Between Modern Moral Aspirations and Evolved Moral Dispositions
Scholars concerned with dialogical understanding and the negotiation of fundamental ethical disagreement in pluralistic modern societies have drawn attention to the intimate relationship among dialogue, perspective taking and mutual understanding. However, while these capacities endure as modern moral ideals, evolutionary biological accounts of social cooperation and social scientific investigations of human behaviour both suggest that humankind’s ideals may have outstripped its evolved moral sensibilities. While these sensibilities are well suited to maintaining co-operative relations among members of the same social group, in the case of outsiders, the propensity is instead to withdraw moral recognition and to treat the outsider as a thing.
This essay first considers twentieth and twenty-first century scholars’ attention to the relationships among dialogue, perspective taking and mutual understanding, noting this work’s trajectory towards a robust endorsement of perspective taking as an essential feature of dialogical and intercultural understanding. It then turns to the work of evolutionary biologists and social scientists, whose research into the tribal character of human morality explains why dialogue with, and taking the perspective of, members of different groups is so hard. The essay finishes by reviewing findings from a particular research tradition in social psychology: intergroup contact theory. This has identified the conditions under which people’s evolved propensity to show favouritism
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xWright, Charles "Tribal Morality and the Ethical Other: The Tension Between Modern Moral Aspirations and Evolved Moral Dispositions." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1, ( May 2015 ): 89-116. Print.
Wright, C. ( May 2015 ). Tribal Morality and the Ethical Other: The Tension Between Modern Moral Aspirations and Evolved Moral Dispositions. Journal of Dialogue Studies, 3(1), 89-116.
Wright, Charles "Tribal Morality and the Ethical Other: The Tension Between Modern Moral Aspirations and Evolved Moral Dispositions." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1 ( May 2015 ): 89-116.
What does Ethical Dialogue Look Like? A Reflection
Some, particularly Evangelical,1 critiques of or opposition to inter faith dialogue are based on its inappropriateness from a confessional perspective. This position argues that the committed Christian should not be involved in the dialogue of exploring commonalities without also, firstly, being clear about the difficulties of dialogue and its scope for doctrinal confusion. There cannot thus be full and meaningful dialogue about the love of God and neighbour without defining or describing God at the outset. Within this environment, although the words themselves – God and neighbour – unite, doctrine divides. For the Christian who shares this position, the first step in opening dialogue is through a confrontation between Trinity and Tawhid.
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xBond, Julian "What does Ethical Dialogue Look Like? A Reflection." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1, ( May 2015 ): 117-122. Print.
Bond, J. ( May 2015 ). What does Ethical Dialogue Look Like? A Reflection. Journal of Dialogue Studies, 3(1), 117-122.
Bond, Julian "What does Ethical Dialogue Look Like? A Reflection." Journal of Dialogue Studies 3.1 ( May 2015 ): 117-122.