Chapter 3: Polyphony: A Vivid Source of Self and Symbol

This chapter looks at dialogical formations at the beginning of human life through empirically observable practices of vocal exchange between mother and infant. The leading idea is that sensory experiences¹ within dialogic forms give rise to the sophisticated constructs of self and symbol. Observing the ontogeny of dialogic forms leads us to examine how they pave the way to self and symbol formation, and how, in turn, self and symbol are related to their phenomenological origins. We hold that these constructs cannot be understood, a) without taking into account their sensory origin, and b) outside dialogicality, i.e. without the other of the developing self. Our emphasis is on the primacy of concrete dialogic experiences as grounds for self and symbol development and functioning.