Participatory sense-making in deep disagreements: enriching multi-modal theory of argumentation with the enactive approach to linguistic bodies

Abstract

Deep disagreements – conflicts that concern issues of existential importance – pose a challenge for traditional argumentation theories. This paper explores how such disagreements unfold in dialogical exchanges, particularly in emotionally and existentially charged contexts. Using the movie We Live in Time (2024) as a case study of deep disagreement on procreation, we note that the multi-modal theory of argumentation seems initially promising but is ultimately limited as far as overcoming deep disagreements is concerned. This paper aims to remedy these limits of multi-modal argumentation by utilizing the enactive tool of participatory sense-making. While multi-modal argumentation facilitates resolution through mutual understanding and seeking of interlocutor’s shared grounds in most mundane disagreements, we argue that it remains insufficient in deep disagreements. This is because in deep disagreements the shared grounds between the interlocutors' respective positions are missing. By discussing qualitative sociological research on reproductive decision-making, we argue that what is needed in such cases is co-creation of new meanings between interlocutors. We propose integrating the enactive approach to participatory sense-making with multi-modal argumentation and we test the efficacy of this intervention by analyzing some crucial scenes of We Live in Time. Our final picture explains how participatory sense-making can help couples transform their deep disagreements into new meanings over a span of a shared form of life.