Change is an Ongoing Ethical Event: Levinas, Bakhtin and the Dialogical Dynamics of Becoming

Abstract

In this article, we use the intersubjective ethics of Bakhtin and Levinas and a case illustration to explore change in therapy as an ethical phenomenon. We follow Lakoff and Johnson in their emphasis on the way our conceptions of change seem permeated by metaphors. Bakhtin and Levinas both suggest through a language in which metaphors play a crucial role, that human existence—the consciousness and the subject—emerge within the dialogue of the encounter. They both describe the dynamics of human existence as ethical in their origin. Following this, we argue that change may be seen as an ongoing ethical event and that the dynamics of change are found in the ways we constantly become in this event. We investigate the ethical dynamics of this ongoing event through three themes illuminating the contributions of both Bakhtin and Levinas: (1) we become as responsible, (2) we become in speaking, (3) we become in answering the unknown. We explore these themes through a case illustration. Finally, we briefly point out some possible implications for mental health practice.

Inter-agency work in Open Dialogue: the significance of listening and authenticity

“…Most previous studies on OD involve teams consisting of professionals working in the primary and/or specialist mental healthcare sector (Brottveit, 2013;Bøe, Kristoffersen, Lidbom, Lindvig, Ulland, Seikkula, & Zachariassen, 2013;Grosås, 2010;Guregaard, 2009;Holloway, 2009;Lidbom, Bøe, Kristoffersen, Ulland, & Seikkula, 2014;Søndergaard, 2010;. Projects inspired by ODA also solely consist of mental health clinicians (Borg, Karlsson, & Kim, 2010) or a combination of representatives from the mental healthcare and social sectors (Piippo & Aaltonen, 2004).…”

“She Offered Me a Place and a Future”: Change is an Event of Becoming Through Movement in Ethical Time and Space

“…This indicates that experiences that we can identify as social or existential are given meaning through everyday language related to bodily experiences (see also Bøe et al 2013). Furthermore, this may also indicate that the connection between our bodily living and what we identify as social or existential aspects of living are more interwoven than is usually thought.…”

“…Bakhtin (1993) puts ''the ongoing event of being'' (p. 17) at the core of his thoughts on human living, and we become, he says, as we participate in ''being-as-event'' through our ''answerable acts'' (p. 39). We have explored change as event, and the accompanying ethical aspects, in a previous study suggesting that change may be described as an ''ongoing ethical event'' (Bøe et al 2013). Drawing on the intersubjective ethics of Emmanuel Levinas and Mikhail Bakhtin, we suggested that responsibility (Levinas) and answerability (Bakhtin) seem to be fundamental in the dynamics of change.…”

“…The context of this study was mental health services in the southern part of Norway, where dialogical and network-oriented practices in mental health have been implemented and developed over the two last decades . In 2010, a program for research and development related to dialogical practices titled ''Dialogical collaboration in Southern Norway'' was established and provided an opportunity for a series of qualitative studies of dialogical practices (e.g., Bøe et al 2013;Grosås 2010;Hauan 2010;Holmesland et al 2010;Lidbom et al 2014;Ropstad 2010;Ulland et al 2013), from which this study emerged.…”

“…3 This utterance and the story of Philip are elaborated on in our article ''Change is an ongoing ethical event: Levinas, Bakhtin and the dialogical dynamics of becoming''(Bøe et al 2013).…”