Can We Talk? Dialogical Hermeneutics

This chapter discusses possible ways out of the dichotomy of (uncritical) trust and (unwarranted) distrust we have been describing, in order to move toward new forms of intersubjective dialogue in online culture. In such a dialogical situation, ideally, the ideological distance between interpreter and text is not primarily an obstacle, but rather a source of productivity. But what could such a dialogue look like today, in which we see ourselves as interpreters co-produced alongside the materials we attempt to decode and make sense of? How do our prejudgments factor into our digital-hermeneutic readings? We look for answers by examining the subreddit r/changemyview. This is a discussion forum where users post their opinions while acknowledging that they might actually be wrong, with an openness to understanding alternative perspectives. How does dialogism come about on this public forum, and does it take us beyond the hermeneutics of suspicion and of faith? We assess the possibilities for epistemological border or horizon crossing in today's online public spheres in terms of a dialectical moment synthesizing trust and distrust.