ABSTRACT

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book discusses Martin Buber's conception of dialogue as a symmetrical relation, as being inclusive of the Other. It deals with two Russian thinkers influenced by Marxism. Mikhail Bakhtin's understanding of dialogic imagination emphasises that language acquires meaning only in dialogue that necessarily takes place in a social and cultural context in which many voices take part. The book examines Hannah Arendt's political understanding of dialogue. It considers Simone Weil's understanding of dialogue as connected with relations of power mediated through language and words in a public space, and possibly generating conflict because of the ever-changing nature of reality. The book focuses on Michael Oakeshott's political understanding of dialogue as a form of conversation, essential to the sustenance and development of civilisation. The voices in such a conversation are the different modes of experience, or worlds of ideas, fostering our values.