Abstract
The major thesis of this chapter is that dialogue has been a critical catalyst in human cultural evolution. As used here, dialogue means disciplined, face-to-face (or virtual), intentional conversation among the members of a group or a community. I distinguish between two kinds of dialogue: generative dialogue - the interactional means to establish common ground, or a shared worldview; and strategic dialogue - the interactional means to solve a common problem, create a collective plan, redesign an existing social system, or design a new cultural order. The chapter is organized into three sections: First, I describe the function of dialogue in human cultural evolution; from the initial emergence of Cro-Magnon pre-agrarian society to today's post-industrial civilization. Next, I present a current view of dialogue and highlight its characteristics. Then, I focus on the role of dialogue in conscious, self-guided human evolution. In closing, I outline a project that highlights the central role of dialogue in conscious evolution.
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