Abstract of "Dialogic Civility in a Cynical Age" by Arnett, Ronald and Pat Arneson

Author Abstract

This book explores dialogue and narrative as ways to advance constructive conversation. First, it explores dialogic civility as a "potential background narrative capable of reminding us how to address the other if we are to pragmatically accomplish the task of co-constituting meaning between persons" in an age of contention. The authors maintain that if a commitment to dialogic civility "becomes central to the communicative life of many people, a narrative is invited that functions as an implicit background for guiding everyday personal discourse."