Relational Thinking

Abstract

TWe describe the third mode of dialectical thinking that we call relational thinking, which in essence views entities as always being constituted by their relationships to something other than themselves. We illustrate relational thinking with reference to a physical entity, an organism called a Paramecium, and then to a conceptual entity, the notion of dialogue between two people. We then give examples of three levels of relational thinking. We conclude with a series of generic “mind-opening” questions designed to encourage relational thinking.