ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the issues by suggesting a social psychological framework to examine encounters between different knowledges and their possible outcomes. It suggests that the hierarchical representation of knowledge, present in classical theoretical models about knowledge and its development, betrays an illusion linked to the omnipotence of self and difficulties to take the perspective of the other. The chapter argues that communication between different knowledges is not only possible, it is also necessary in the development of human life. It also suggests that the social psychological processes underlie encounters between knowledge systems and impinge on the manner in which knowledges communicate, allowing both dialogical and non-dialogical outcomes. The chapter explains a knowledge encounter as the meeting between two or more representational systems, expressing different subjective, intersubjective and objective worlds. The ontogeny of human experience is about encountering and communicating with the other and succeeding in this encounter is paramount for human life.
