Abstract
Dialogical Self Theory (DST) refers to the dynamic multiplicity of I-positions in the landscape of the mind, intertwined as one’s mind is with the minds of others. That is, it is premised on a view of the self as characterized by multivoicedness and as extended into one’s environment. ‘Multivoicedness’ is inspired by Bakhtin’s dialogism, especially his description of the polyphonic novel. The ‘extended self’ is traceable to William James, especially as reinterpreted by G. H. Mead and others. The two ideas are inseparable in DST. A related idea is the imaginal space, an abstract intrapersonal domain wherein self-other relations are construed and re-construed. We may experience it when imagining ourselves speaking with others, in moments of self-contradiction, self-conflict, and so on. All of this suggests a basic similarity between interpersonal relationships and how different parts of the self are interrelated. ‘In a sense the dialogical self is a “society of mind” because there is no essential difference between the positions a person takes as part of the self and the positions people take as members of a heterogeneous society’ (Hermans, 2002, p. 147).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Beebe, J. (2002) ‘An archetypal model of the self in dialogue’, Theory & Psychology 12, 267–80.
Bishop, P. (1996) ‘The use of Kant in Jung’s early psychological works’, Journal of European Studies 26, 107–40.
Branco, A. U., Branco, A. L. and Madureira, A. F. (2008) ‘Self-development and the emergence of new I-Positions: Emotions and self dynamics’, Studia Psychologica 8, 23–40.
Brooke, R. (2009) Jung and Phenomenology. Pittsburgh: Trivium.
Burkitt, I. (2010) ‘Fragments of unconscious experience: Towards a dialogical, relational, and sociological analysis’, Theory & Psychology 20, 322–41.
Dodds, A. E., Lawrence, J. A. and Valsiner, J. (1997) ‘The personal and the social: Mead’s theory of the “Generalized Other”’, Theory & Psychology 7, 483–503.
Hermans, H. J. M. (1993) ‘Moving opposites in the self: A Heraclitean approach’, Journal of Analytical Psychology 38, 437–62.
— (2000) ‘The coherence of incoherent narratives’, Narrative Inquiry 10, 223–7.
— (2001a) ‘The dialogical self: Toward a theory of personal and cultural positioning’, Culture & Psychology 7, 243–81.
— (2001b) ‘The construction of a personal position repertoire: Method and practice’, Culture & Psychology 7, 323–66.
— (2002) ‘The dialogical self as a society of mind: Introduction’, Theory & Psychology 12, 147–60.
Hermans, H. J. M. and Hermans-Konopka, A. (2010) Dialogical Self Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hermans, H. J. M. and Kempen, H. J. G. (1993) The Dialogical Self. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Hermans, H. J. M., Kempen, H. J. G. and van Loon, R. J. P. (1992) ‘The dialogical self: Beyond individualism and rationalism’, American Psychologist 47, 23–33.
Hermans, H. J. M., Rljks, T. I. and Kempen, H. J. G. (1993) ‘Imaginal dialogues in the self: Theory and method’, Journal of Personality 61, 207–36.
Hillman, J. (1975) Re-Visioning Psychology. New York: Harper Perennial.
Hogenson, G. B. (2004) ‘What are symbols symbols of? Situated action, mythological bootstrapping and the emergence of the Self’, Journal of Analytical Psychology 49, 67–81.
Homans, P. (1995) Jung in Context (2nd edn). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
James, W. (1890) The Principles of Psychology (Vol. 1). New York: Holt.
Jones, R. A. (2003) ‘Mixed metaphors and narrative shifts: Archetypes’, Theory and Psychology 13, 651–72.
— (2007) Jung, Psychology, Postmodernity. London: Routledge.
Jung, C. G. Unless otherwise stated, the following are from The Collected Works of C. G. Jung (CW). London: Routledge, and Kegan Paul/Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
— (1907) ‘The psychology of dementia praecox’ (CW 3).
— (1921) Psychological Types (CW 6).
— (1934) ‘A review of the complex theory’ (CW 8).
— (1935) ‘The Tavistock lectures’ (CW 18).
— (1936) ‘The concept of the collective unconscious’ (CW 9I).
— (1943) ‘On the psychology of the unconscious’ (CW 7).
— (1946) ‘The psychology of transference’ (CW16).
— (1948) ‘The psychological foundations of belief in spirits’ (CW 8).
— (1951) Aion (CW 9II).
— (1954) ‘Psychological aspects of the mother archetype’ (CW 9I).
— (1957) ‘Forward to Michael Fordham: New developments in analytical psychology’ (CW 18).
— (1958) ‘The transcendent function’ (CW 8).
— (1961) Memories, Dreams, Reflections. London: Collins and Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Kant, I. (1933) Critique of Pure Reason. London: Macmillan (Original work published in 1781).
Kirsch, T. (2005) ‘Letters between James Kirsch and C. G. Jung’, Paper presented at the 2nd International Academic Conference of Analytical Psychology and Jungian Studies. College Station, Texas, USA, 7–10 July 2005.
Mead, G. H. (1934) Mind, Self, and Society. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Papadopoulos, R. K. (2002) ‘The other other: When the exotic other subjugates the familiar other’, Journal of Analytical Psychology 47, 163–88.
Rieff, P. (1959) Freud. London: Victor Gollancz.
Ritzer, G. (1992) Sociological Theory (3rd edn.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Rowland, S. (2005) Jung as Writer. London: Routledge.
Sampson, E. E. (1985) ‘The decentralization of identity: Toward a revised concept of personal and social order’, American Psychologist 40, 1203–11.
Solomon, H. M. (1994) ‘The transcendent function and Hegel’s dialectical vision’, Journal of Analytical Psychology 39, 77–100.
Valsiner, J. (2002) ‘Forms of dialogical relations and semiotic autoregulation within the self’, Theory & Psychology 12, 251–65.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2011 Raya A. Jones and Hubert J. M. Hermans
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jones, R.A., Hermans, H.J.M. (2011). The Dialogical and the Imaginal. In: Jones, R.A., Morioka, M. (eds) Jungian and Dialogical Self Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230307490_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230307490_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-33084-3
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-30749-0
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social Sciences CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)