CONCEPTIONS OF SELF AND IDENTITY TOWARD A DIALOGICAL VIEW

In this contribution a dialogical view of self and identity is proposed. With this purpose in mind, a historical overview of some of the main theoretical developments are discussed: Erikson’s identity theory, James’ theory on the self and its expansion in later cognitive and narrative approaches. Particular attention is devoted to the metaphor of the polyphonic novel as proposed by the literary scholar Bakhtin. Instigated by this metaphor, the concept of the dialogical self is developed in which the notion of ‘voice’ is central. It is argued that the dialogical self allows to study not only verbal but also non-verbal aspects of the self and, moreover, opens the realm of collective voices in society. Finally, it is argued that the dialogical self can be considered as a response to post-modern views of self and society which focus on the problem of emptiness and fragmentation.