Self and identity are both individual and social constructions. They ­participate in societies that are changing over time. The self in medieval times is not the same self as in post-modern times. There is no self-in-abstracto being subjected to external causation. As a historical construction the self is not simply externally influenced by the time in which it is living, but a process that is an expression of the time and space in which it evolves. Historical changes as intrinsic to the self-process are particularly recognized when self and identity are conceived of as extended in space and time. Whereas in the previous chapter we analyzed the self as extended in space, in the present chapter we focus on its extension in time. Historical changes are reflected in the collective aspects of self and identity. In order to articulate these changes and their implications for the self, we will distinguish three models that are associated with particular historical phases: traditional, modern, and post-modern. Elaborating on specific features of these models, we will discern a fourth model: the dialogical one that is the centrepiece of the present chapter.

Two remarks should be made in order to clarify the particular nature of this chapter. First, the different models do not represent purely successive phases in the course of history.

As already argued in the context of globalization (Chapter 1) emotions are embedded in a social context and result from real, imagined, anticipated, or recollected outcomes of social relationships. In this chapter we aim to elaborate on this view by showing that emotions are part of an organized position repertoire and play a crucial role in the process of dialogue both between people and within the self of an individual. Special attention will be given to some affective implications of the traditional, modern, and post-modern models of the self. As part of the post-modern model we will discuss the phenomenon of consumerism as having important implications for the emotional lives of many people in contemporary society. Love will be discussed as a most relevant feeling to the dialogical self. Finally, a stage model will be outlined that can be used as a procedure for the dialogical change of emotions.

Emotions and self

This chapter is based on the assumption that there is an intense interconnection between self and emotion and their relation is understood as bi-directional (see also Morgan and Averill, 1992): emotions have an influence on the self and, conversely, the self is able to confirm or change emotions. Let's briefly elaborate on each of these directions.

Understanding globalization and its impact on self and identity is a crucial task for social scientists and practitioners today. As a result of increasing demographic, economic, ecological, political, and military interconnections on a global scale, cosmopolitanism is becoming an aspect of the everyday life of people in many parts of the world. Educational contacts crossing the borders of nationalities; tourism as the biggest industry in the world; the daily use of the internet by adults, adolescents, and children; business contacts with people on the other side of the world; and intensive communication between diasporas and homelands illustrate that never in the history of humankind have global connections had such a broad reach and deep impact on the selves and identities of an increasing number of people.

Although globalization broadens the scope and opens new horizons for an increasing number of people from diverse origins, it has its evident shadow sides. Tragic events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, DC, and the bombings in Bali, Madrid, and London are fixed forever in our memories.

In a world society that is increasingly interconnected and intensely involved in historical changes, dialogical relationships are required not only between individuals, groups and cultures, but also within the self of one and the same individual. This central message of the present book is based on the observation that many of the social processes, like dialogue and fights for dominance, that can be observed in society at large also take place within the self as a “society of mind.” The self is not considered as an entity in itself, as pre-given, with society as a facilitating or impeding environment, but rather as emerging from social, historical, and societal processes that transcend any individual–society dichotomy or separation.

The central notion of this book, the dialogical self, weaves two concepts, self and dialogue, together in such a way that a more profound understanding of the interconnection of self and society becomes possible. Usually, the concept of self refers to something “internal,” something that happens within the mind of the individual person, while “dialogue” is typically associated with something “external,” processes that take place between people who are involved in communication. The composite concept “dialogical self” goes beyond this dichotomy by bringing the external to the internal and, in reverse, to infuse the internal into the external. We will describe the self along these lines, in terms of a diversity of relationship between different “self-positions” and consider society as populated, stimulated, and renewed by individuals in development.

One of the starting points of this book is that the self and identity can only be properly understood when their spatial and temporal nature is fully acknowledged. Therefore, we started this book by exploring self and identity as part of a globalizing world (space) and as part of a changing collective history (time). In the present chapter we develop a theoretical framework that takes these spatial and temporal processes into account. From a spatial point of view, we will describe the extended self in terms of a spatially organized position repertoire. From a temporal point of view, we will elaborate on the view that the dialogical self is located at the interface of different models of the self: the traditional, modern, and post-modern models. In our discussion of the similarity between the post-modern and the dialogical model of the self, we will focus on the multiplicity and differences of positions. In agreement with the modern model, the dialogical self takes into account the coherence and continuity of the self. Finally, from the traditional self the dialogical self learns that there is a moral purpose, expressed in the moral valuation of the multiplicity and alterity not only of the position repertoire of other people, groups and cultures but also of the different positions in the self.

Positioning and dialogical activity are not simply given but the result of complex developmental processes. In the present chapter we want to discuss some processes that are crucial for understanding the emergence and development of a dialogical self. What are its precursors and early manifestations and in what ways does it develop in the course of time? When we pretend that the dialogical self is not only social but also embodied, how is the body expressed in the process of positioning and repositioning and in forms of dialogical activity? Under what conditions is the dialogical self involved in a progressive process and under what conditions in a regressive process? Such questions are central to the present chapter, which is divided in three parts. In the first part we describe some forerunners and early manifestations of the dialogical self. The second part is organized around the central role of “promoter positions” that are particularly relevant to understanding how the self is stimulated to reach higher levels of development. In the third and final part, we present a model that is useful in explaining the progressions and regressions of a dialogical self in development.

Precursors and early manifestations of a dialogical self

In the first part of this chapter it is our purpose to demonstrate that the embodied nature of the dialogical self is expressed in early processes of positioning and repositioning and that the social nature of the self is rooted in pre-linguistic and non-verbal forms of interaction.

In this final chapter, we explore some practical implications of dialogical self theory for the functioning of individuals, groups, and organizations. The guiding idea is that dialogue and the dialogical self are not only theoretical developments but also basic principles that have the potential to give form to the interaction within and between individuals and groups. Dialogue needs not only study but also practice and has the potential to enrich this practice. With this idea in mind, we will discuss some topics where the practical implications of the dialogical self seem to be most productive. We ask the following questions: How can organizations function in a more dialogical way? How can motivation profit from insights into the functioning of the dialogical self? Is it possible to develop forms of conflict resolution that take some basic insight in the dialogical nature of the self into account? How can dialogue be stimulated and used to solve social problems in emotional situations? It is not our intention to give any final answers to these challenging questions or to restrict practical implication to the three topics mentioned above.