This section features the five articles from this issue of the Co-Inquiry Journal:

1. The Shared Search For Meaning

Shareen Abramson

Everyone aspires to find meaning in life. In this quest, individuals and groups must confront problems that require choices on how to act wisely, live according to beliefs, and be respectful of others. A possible source for guidance, philosophy is the field of study dedicated to the search for meaning and the pursuit of wisdom. Major philosophical interests include: the nature of existence (metaphysics), the source of belief (epistemology) and the conduct of life (ethics). While not always apparent, one’s own philosophy guides the decision-making process about what to do next. In addition to having personal value, philosophy has significant implications for professional work with children and families. Having roots in philosophical ideas, the concepts of co-inquiry, interchange and communicative literacy explain how children, teachers and parents acquire meaning in early education programs. By examining the underlying philosophical ideas, these three concepts can be more fully understood and applied in teaching and learning.

Click here to read complete article.

Click here to download in PDF format.

2. The Theory Of Languages

Shareen Abramson

Semiotics proposes that the sign functions as the basic, constructive element of language, thought and culture. Signs represent the human, innate desire to communicate with others, understand experience and create relationships. One of the most compelling questions asked in life is: “What does it all mean?”  In using signs, we attempt to discover connection and wholeness in the seemingly disparate, arbitrary elements that compose existence. The capacity to make, interpret and respond to signs is central to the acquisition of communicative literacy, the essential ability to express meaning using language and other standard symbolic systems.  Examining the nature of the sign is the beginning point for developing the theory of languages, the framework for the concept of communicative literacy.

Click here to read complete article.

Click here to download in PDF format.

3. The Flash Of Insight

Shareen Abramson

The theory of semiotics imparts a dynamic view of the relationship of thought, language and culture in the construction of meaning. This process takes place not only across an individual’s life span but also in the evolution of society and over the course of history. As previously discussed, interchange, a process of inquiry, interaction and dialogue, is the primary mechanism for this continuous, ubiquitous meaning-making process constituting human experience. To assist with interchange, communicative literacy, using standard symbolic systems to communicate ideas, allows meaning to be distributed throughout the larger community. In this complex process, understanding may shift slowly making gradual, incremental changes. At other times a flash of insight may suddenly shatter pre-existing ideas and beliefs. In Peirce’s theory, the fundamental agency of “firstness,” or abductive reasoning is the starting point for the emergence of new meaning.

Click here to read complete article.

Click here to download in PDF format.

4. The Value of Dialogue

Shareen Abramson

Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), a visionary advocate for technology, is known for declaring: “The medium is the message,” He also predicted that advances in mass communication that would lead to the “global village” that is now a reality. His views align with the importance of communicative literacy in this technological age. Unfortunately, in spite of the marvelous achievements in technological communication, there is the “general feeling that communication is breaking down everywhere, on an unparalleled scale. People . . . are hardly able to talk with one another without fighting (Bohm, 1996, p. 1).  Conflict and adversarial relationships exist around the globe and in communities, schools and families. A catastrophic outcome of poor communication is a feeling of pervasive fragmentation. Such fragmentation creates confusion, misunderstanding and social isolation. Fragmentation causes insurmountable barriers to communication. Bohm uses the metaphor of a smashed watch that is beyond repair to represent the fatal effects of fragmentation. To prevent this from happening, communication must be given priority.

Click here to read complete article.

Click here to download in PDF format.

5. Intersubjective Interchange

Shareen Abramson

In dialogue, an interchange occurs among participants. Ideas, interpretations, opinions and predictions continuously flow, evolve and change.  This “meeting of minds” is a dynamic, stimulating and satisfying experience that results in heightened awareness of others. In the philosophical literature this deep awareness of others is called intersubjectivity.
Intersubjectivity refers to a relational connection that arises during successful communication. When the conscious minds or subjectivities of two or more individuals become aware and open to one another as they work or talk together, intersubjectivity, or shared understanding is experienced (Crossley, 1996).  Intersubjectivity allows individuals, regardless of their differences,  “to meet” and freely interchange thoughts, feelings and beliefs without fear or the need to be defensive. Intersubjectivity has the potential to strengthen relationships, commitment to the well-being of others and planning for joint actions.
As a result of interchange, one’s perspective may shift, enlarge or become more inclusive. New ideas emerge that represent an amalgamation of the group’s shared thoughts and no longer belong to the individuals involved. (Crossley, 1996). However intersubjectivity does not always lead to agreement. While the views or ideas of others may be understood, the other’s perspective may not be adopted or be consistent with one’s own.

Click here to read complete article.

Click here to download in PDF format.

Questions or comments? Please send us your feedback.