Learning, discursive faultiness and dialogic engagement

The chapter begins with the introduction of the discursive framework and follows with distinguishing two subtypes of learning, object-level and meta-level. It introduces the adjective dialogic to denote the kind of interaction that seems indispensable if such learning is to occur. The ontic version of dialogic engagement is to be cultivated in science and mathematics education, in learning engineering and medicine; the other one is necessary in peace education, learning literature, history and therapies. Dialogic engagement is desirable at any time in any classroom, but when it comes to dealing with incommensurability, it becomes truly indispensable. In a society that prioritises instant consensus, transforming classrooms into oases of dialogic engagement is a challenging endeavour and requires much further thinking. In the case of conflicting narratives coming from incommensurable discourses, a never-ending, futile dispute may result from learners’ attempts to resolve the controversy by applying logical argumentation, the method often promoted as a panacea for disagreement.