In Dialogue and the Art of
Thinking Together, William Isaacs extends Dialogue theory to its practical applications. Identifying pathologies of thought
(abstraction, idolatry, certainty, and violence), Isaacs unearths
counterbalancing principles of Dialogue (participation, coherence, awareness,
and unfolding) and their corresponding practices (listening, respecting,
suspending, and voicing). Like his
mentor David Bohm, Isaacs carefully defines key terms and outdoes the master when
reaching into his seemingly endless reserve of rich illustrations from history,
popular culture, other cultures, literature, music, philosophy, management, and
organized labor to sharpen his focus on the clear distinction between
Dialogue and other forms of human communication.
Isaacs also freely
draws parallels with other ideas, such as David Kantor’s four-player system
(mover, follower, opposer, and bystander), to press a case for the value of
each personality type in the communication continuum. His new
capacities for behavior diagrams crystallize the roles of each player in
Dialogue, and his prose elaborates on each player’s intents and potential
communication shortcomings.
To Isaacs’s credit, he never shies from
admitting that attempts at Dialogue can lead to painfully protracted and
frustrating impasses. However, he depicts the rewards of communication
breakthroughs as virtual miracles:
Hours go by and it
seems only minutes have lapsed. It is
very difficult to interrupt dialogues that are in space when the pressure of
kronos (real time) arises.
That kind of writing will sell
readers on trying to experience Dialogue for themselves. Isaacs’s accessible style makes for the
perfect companion piece to Bohm's On Dialogue. In fact, his exhaustive associations between
theory and technique render Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together the ultimate
handbook on the subject.
