Bohmian Dialogue: a Critical Retrospective of Bohm’s Approach to Dialogue as a Practice of Collective Communication
by Olen Gunnlaugson – [ Journal of Dialogue Studies, Vol 2 No 1 ]
Abstract
In this chapter, I will offer both an appreciative and critical examination of David Bohm’s vision and practice of dialogue and how it relates to the field of dialogue studies. Bohm’s conception of dialogue was ground-breaking in its time due to its emphasis on consciousness and unfolding a fundamentally different order of communication mediated by collective awareness and insight into the nature of thought and the dialogue process as a whole. Bohm’s conception and process aspired to bring the human project of sharing meaning, values and learning forward by introducing practices or ways of being with the dialogue process that interrupted conventional practice at that time. In this paper, I examine key contributions of Bohm’s work as well as a number of critiques and limitations of the practice. Finally, I comment briefly on the feasibility of Bohm’s practice as a transformative approach to dialogue.