Dialogue and Desire

This book is an exploration of the relationship between the Russian philosopher, Mikhail Bakhtin, and contemporary dialogical psychotherapy, describing the psychoanalytic and linguistic conception of the dialogical self.

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Mikhail Bakhtin, the Russian philosopher and cultural critic, was one of the pioneers of the 'linguistic turn' in philosophy and is now widely associated with the concept of the dialogical self and dialogical psychotherapy. However, whilst dialogism is the concept for which Bakhtin is most well known in psychotherapy, it is, in isolation, open to a wide range of interpretations that can be claimed by diverse and conflicting ideological positions. The radical contribution that a more inclusive reading of Bakhtin could bring to psychotherapy only becomes apparent when dialogism is understood in the context of Bakhtin's philosophy as a whole, and when Bakhtin himself is brought into a dialogical relationship with other thinkers. By bringing Bakhtin into dialogue with the controversial French anthropologist, Rene Girard, the centrality of desire in language and human social life is woven into the concept of the dialogical self and the practice of dialogical psychotherapy. This book will be of keen interest to students interested in the contemporary relevance of Bakhtin's thinking as well as psychotherapists concerned with the complex relationship between language, consciousness and the art of psychotherapy.