Dialogic ethics in the anthropology of our lives

Chapter 5's content--discussion of the dialogic, and how historical situatedness and recognition of the Other guide three main types of dialogue--was especially relatable for me. An elective course I took two years ago, Understanding Cultures, offered a view of the human experience in discovery through an anthropological lens. Many of the concepts discussed in this chapter, especially those cited from Gadamer on page 82, reflect the anthropologist's understanding of interaction between persons and applies them to oral communication. Specifically, anthropologists traditionally rely on concepts of "In-betweenness" and "Otherness" to describe states of existence along a spectrum that connects our perception of reality--how we see the world--with the holistic human experience of another person. Actually, I claim some ownership of the idea of In-betweenness and Otherness along a linear spectrum (with "Sameness" as the opposite end we usually occupy). Gadamer's framing of dialogue as an encounter with Otherness, "a meeting of respectful difference--one's own bias [meeting] that of another text or person," calls to mind this linear depiction. I'm reminded that Otherness is a space we can never truly occupy, only seek to understand by pushing the boundaries of In-betweenness with more intense immersion, greater learning, and, as Communication Ethics Literacy claims, alertness to the ethics of the historical moment.

In fact, I see one's "communication ethic" as just a single piece of true Otherness, whether applied across geographic distance, religious conflict, economic class, or even across the classroom, where I often look up to see Lee. I imagine Lee and I could find several similarities in our worldview and perceptions of the world--similarities between our individual Sameness. But for the infinite parallels, both grandiose and imperceptibly minor, there are infinite differences that create spaces of Otherness which neither of us will ever truly occupy, no matter how much time we spend together and how much insight we might derive from the book's "genuine dialogue." But my anthropological background has allowed me to better understand dialogic communication, especially as it involves negotiation, attentiveness, and temporal competence (page 96). All of these are necessary pursuits for the anthropologist conducting field research in a different culture than his or her own. I can visualize communication ethics, a concept we struggle to encompass even after weeks of class, as just one part of the learning and development (the anthropology) of our lives.