Reading :: Together

Together: The Rituals, Pleasures and Politics of Cooperation
By Richard Sennett

I read this book (Kindle edition) because I was interested in the author's contrast between dialectic and dialogic forms of interaction. Sennett, a sociologist, is interested in the question of cooperation, which he says is a craft (loc 52) and defines as "an exchange in which the participants benefit from the encounter" (p.4). Specifically, rather than destructive collusion, he prefers cooperation in which people with conflicting interests can be joined (p.5). He argues that "modern society is 'de-skilling' people in practising cooperation" (p.8).

To explore the issue, he turns to dialogics, which "names attention and responsiveness to other people" (p.13). He contrasts dialogics with dialectics: dialectics' aim is to come to a common understanding (p.18), while dialogics' aim is to better understand each others' position even though common ground is not established (p.19). He links sympathy to dialectics and empathy to dialogics (p.21). Dialectics has an end, but dialogics is open-ended. Dialectics involves "a play of contraries leading to agreement" while dialogics involves "bouncing off views and experiences" (p.23). Unfortunately, our society is much better at the former than the latter (p.23). He specifically discusses the ill-fated Google Wave as a technology built on the dialectical form of cooperation (pp.26-27 and following). He concludes the introduction with this thought: "people's capacities for cooperation are far greater and more complex than institutions allow them to be"(p.29).

Later, he argues that "the one path emphasizes coming to shared conclusions, which is dialectic's goal; the other path emphasizes the dialogic process, in which mutual exchange may lead to no result. Along the one path, cooperation is a tool, a means; along the other, more of an end in itself" (p.45).

Overall, Sennett's book helped me to get a handle on the distinction between these two forms of interaction, although I would have liked to see a more structured and cited argument. As is, although Sennett has done a great job of drawing the contrast, I'll need to review sources myself to confirm whether others see the distinction in these terms.