Leiman is surely right that Bakhtin's dialogism is of immense importance for psychotherapy research and psychology in general. Here I argue that Bakhtin's ideas represent an attractive third alternative to modern individualism and postmodern relativism. Philosophical hermeneutics also outlines such an alternative, one that richly complements Bakhtin's dialogism. Nevertheless, I suggest that some contemporary Bakhtinian theorists may veer too far in the direction of a radically decentered notion of the self. They stress Bakhtin's notion of “centrifugal” forces, but downplay his equally important conception of “centripetal” ones, in human communication. I suggest that hermeneutic philosophy sketches a more balanced and credible approach to finding a genuine alternative to modern individualism and postmodernist relativism.
BakhtinM. M. (1981). Michael Holquist, The dialogical imagination: Four essays by M. M. Bakhtin, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
2.
BellahR.MadsenR.SullivanW.SwidlerA.TiptonS. (1985). Habits of the heartBerkeley, CA: University of California Press.
3.
BernsteinR. (1983). Beyond objectivism and relativismPhiladelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
4.
BishopR. (2007). The philosophy of the social sciencesNew York: Continuum.
5.
CresswellJ. (2011). Being faithful: Bakhtin and a potential postmodern psychology of self. Culture & Psychology, 17(4), 473–490.
6.
CushmanP. (1990). Why the self is empty. American Psychologist, 45, 599–611.
7.
De PeuterJ. (1998). The dialogics of narrative identity. BellM.GardinerM., Bakhtin and the human sciences: No last words, London: Sage30–48.
8.
DohertyW. (1995). Soul searching: Why psychotherapy must promote moral responsibilityNew York: Basic Books.
9.
DunneJ. (1995). Beyond sovereignty and deconstruction: The storied self. Philosophy and Social Criticism, 21, 137–157.
10.
Foucault, M. (1980a). Power/Knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings. Colin Gordon, (Ed.). New York: Pantheon.
11.
FowersB. (1998). Psychology and the good marriage: Social theory as practice. American Behavioral Scientist, 41, 516–541.
12.
FowersB. (2005). Virtue ethics and psychology: Pursuing excellence in ordinary practicesWashington, DC: APA Press Books.
13.
FrommE. (1969). Escape from freedomNew York: Avon(Original work published 1941).
14.
Gadamer, H.-G. (1989). Truth and method (2nd rev. ed., J. Weinsheimer & D. Marshall, Trans.). New York: Crossroad.
15.
Gardiner, M., & Bell, M. (1998). Bakhtin and the human sciences: A brief introduction. In M. Bell & M. Gardiner (Eds.), Bakhtin and the human sciences (pp. 1–12). London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
16.
GergenK. (1985). The social constructionist movement in modern psychology. American Psychologist, 40, 266–275.
17.
Guignon, C. (1998). Narrative explanation in psychotherapy. American Behavioral Scientist, 41, 558–577.
18.
HabermasJ. (1973). Theory and practiceBoston, MA: Beacon.
19.
HeideggerM. (1962). Being and timeNew York: Harper and Row.
20.
HermansH.KempenH. (1993). The dialogical self: Meaning as movementSan Diego, CA: Academic Press.
21.
HermansH.KempenH.van LoonR. (1992). The dialogical self: Beyond individualism and rationalism. American Psychologist, 47, 23–33.
22.
HermansH.SalgadoJ. (2010). The dialogical self as a minisociety. KirschnerS.MartinJ., The sociocultural turn in psychology, New York, NY: Columbia University Press183–204.
23.
KohutH. (1977). The restoration of the selfMadison, CT: International Universities Press.
MacIntyreA. (1981). After virtueNotre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
26.
RichardsonF.ZeddiesT. (2001). Individualism and modern psychotherapy. SlifeB.WilliamsR.BarlowS., Critical issues in psychotherapy: Translating new ideas into practice, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage147–164.
27.
RichardsonF.FowersB.GuignonC. (1999). Re-envisioning psychology: Moral dimensions of theory and practiceSan Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
28.
RieffP. (1966). The triumph of the therapeuticNew York: Harper.
29.
RortyR. (1982). Consequences of pragmatismMinneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
30.
SandelM. (1996). Democracy's discontent: America in search of a public philosophyCambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
31.
Selznick, P. (1992). The moral commonwealth. Berkeley: University of California Press.
32.
ShotterJ.BilligM. (1998). A Bakhtinian psychology: From out of the heads of individuals and into the dialogues between them. BellM.GardinerM., Bakhtin and the human sciences: No last words, London: Sage13–29.
33.
TjeltveitA. (1999). Ethics and values in psychotherapyLondon: Routledge.
34.
TaylorC. (1985a). Philosophy and the human sciences: Philosophical papersVol. 2Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
35.
TaylorC. (1985b). Self-interpreting animals. TaylorC., Human agency and language: Philosophical papers, Vol. 1Cambridge: Cambridge University Press45–76.
36.
TaylorC. (1985c). What is human agency?. TaylorC., Human agency and language, Philosophical papers, Vol. 1Cambridge: Cambridge University Press14–44.
37.
TaylorC. (1985d). The diversity of goods. TaylorC., Philosophy and the human sciences: Philosophical papers, Vol. 1Cambridge: Cambridge University Press45–76.
38.
TaylorC. (1989). Sources of the selfCambridge: Harvard University Press.
39.
TaylorC. (1991). The dialogical self. BohmanJ.HileyD.SchustermanR., The interpretive turn, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press304–314.
40.
TaylorC. (1995). Philosophical argumentsCambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
41.
TaylorC. (2002). Gadamer and the human sciences. DostalR., The Cambridge companion to Gadamer, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
42.
WarnkeG. (1987). Gadamer: Hermeneutics. tradition, and reasonStanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
43.
WolfeA. (1989). Whose keeper? Social science and moral obligationBerkeley, CA: University of California Press.
