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From Issue #6, Fall 2004
Artful
Dialogues
by Steve Williams
The written dialogue
is an ancient form that can be defined as an argument or controversy
presented by way of an artfully constructed conversation. Dialogues
of ideas have a long history. In the western tradition, Plato, Hume,
Berkeley and Diderot have all used the dialogue form. The Indian Upanishads
and the Analects of Confucius are examples from other ancient cultures.
Dialogues are
excellent starting points for classroom discussion and enquiry. They
can raise complex issues in more direct ways than stories, they are
more entertaining than text books and they stand as exemplars of good
conversation. So, for example, characters in dialogues may support their
arguments with reasons and show a willingness to have their assumptions
questioned.
Not all dialogues
will support the development of better thinking. Some, though enjoyable,
satirise their characters rather than challenge their readers. Satirical
dialogues have a long and honourable history dating back to Lucian and
beyond. The gentle satire of Thomas Love Peacock in the early 19th century
is a more recent example of the genre. His amusing books include Nightmare
Abbey, Crotchet Castle and Gryll Grange, where long lunches and even
longer dinners are the occasions for discussion of matters ranging from
the principles of a sound economy to the best methods of cooking fish.
Dialogues can
also be disappointing when they present a didactic, one-sided argument.
Perhaps didactic dialogues are rooted in the diatribes of preachers
in Byzantine times. They would address the assembled crowd and occasionally
answer questions from imagined characters: "And what if my wife refuses
to obey me? a husband will ask. Never mind! Your obligation is to love
her; do your duty!"(1). Some of Plato's later dialogues are very didactic.
Socrates's interlocutors are mere shadows whose role is to set up the
master's next move.
The best dialogues
of ideas are those whose characters are awarded near equal prowess in
the discussion. There is no solitary voice of authority so readers are
challenged to think for themselves. In these kinds of dialogues, problems
in the characters' arguments are sought out and developed rather than
hidden as in monologues and most expository writing. David Hume's famous
Dialogues on natural religion (2) are praised by critics partly because
it is not certain which side of the argument Hume agreed with. Dialogues,
to keep our interest, must show spirited yet friendly controversies.
They should represent what Karl Jaspers has called a 'loving struggle'
(3).
The dialogue
form has a rich tradition and much variety. Dialogues can contain stories
just as stories contain dialogues. Dialogue characters often use short
narratives to support their arguments. But dialogues can also contain
very long stories, interrupted and framed by discussion, for example,
On the inconsistency of public opinion by Denis Diderot (4). Dialogue
writers can imagine what historical characters might have said to each
other had they met; and they can bring the long-dead back to life in
conversation with modern interlocutors as in George Santayana's On Self-Government
(5).
The written dialogue form, with its tradition of stylistic variety,
merits greater attention in educational contexts. In fact, dialogues
could be described as cultural tools for thinking - the form has been
developed by generations of writers and lies waiting to be exploited
in education today.
The lists below
outline three ways that dialogues can be useful to teachers who want
to stimulate questioning, good conversation and critical thinking.
The advantages
of dialogues
1. As models
for good thinking and conversation, dialogues can:
· show how and why characters enter into a dialogue
· show what sorts of problems can stimulate enquiry
· present a model of mental energy and intellectual vigour
· present the development of human thought as a drama
· promote a medium for understanding how to disagree and what disagreeing
means
· present a model for comparing the relative merits of contrary or contested
ideas, ie examining assumptions, asking for reasons and clarification
· encourage a second look at ideas that are often taken for granted
· present a model for discussion that moves in a context of reasonableness
and goodwill
2. As models
for a thoughtful stance towards truth, dialogues can:
· show characters who care about ethics, truth and argument
· provide a strategy for developing a thoughtful approach to received
ideas, opinions and information
· acknowledge the problem that there is often no consensus of opinion
about important issues
· encourage the idea that knowledge can be tentative and hypothetical,
subject to modification and requiring of reflection
3. As texts that
challenge readers, dialogues can:
· challenge readers to weigh opinions, adopt resolutions, and make judgements
-- in other words, to perform the continuous activity of critical thinking
· present an open ending that can develop further in the minds of readers.
In doing so, dialogues challenge readers into uneasiness and responsibility
about what to think
· demand greater reader participation than treatises or essays
· invite readers to reconsider their own opinions through engaging with
the voices in the text
· induce reflection on experience through the use of examples
· encourage an awareness of possible others inside and outside ourselves
I suggest that
the writing and reading of dialogues could be a valuable teaching tool
to encourage better thinking. In schools dialogues could be used to
stimulate discussion for values education. English teachers too may
welcome dialogues into their classrooms in order to introduce a fresh
area of study between rhetoric and fiction where teaching methods and
expectations are yet to be developed.
Dialogues
and Readers Theatre
Readers Theatre
is an excellent method for bringing dialogues to life; it allows a great
deal of choice in levels of theatricality, preparation and rehearsal.
I have experimented with writing and adapting dialogues for use in schools.
They usually stimulate a lot of interest and discussion. You can read
two examples on my website.
Extract from
Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery by Matthew Lipman, adapted for readers
theatre by Steve Williams. (http://www.thinkingscripts.co.uk/ts/scripts/harry.html)
The Study Group:
Louis Pasteur by Steve Williams. An original Readers Theatre Script
designed to stimulate and model discussion. (http://www.thinkingscripts.co.uk/ts/scripts/pasteur.html)
NOTES
1. St. John Chrysostom, On marriage
and family life, transl. Catharine p. Roth and David Anderson, St.
Vladimir's Seminary Press, New York 1986
2. Hume David, Dialogues
concerning natural religion, Oxford University Press 1993
3. Jaspers,
Karl, Way to Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy, Yale University
Press 1951 (p. 26)
4. Diderot, Denis, On the inconsistency of public
opinion regarding our private actions, in This is not a story and other
stories, tran. Furbank, P.N., Oxford University Press, 1993
5.
Santayana, George, On self government, in Dialogues in Limbo,
1926
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