Dialogism and Inner Speech

Inner speech has recently become a topic of increased attention in philosophy and the mind sciences. Several philosophical debates are currently playing out concerning inner speech, but one that has received relatively little attention concerns whether and to what extent inner speech is dialogic. In this paper, we defend dialogism about inner speech against the criticisms posed by Daniel Gregory (2017) and suggest that taking this view seriously is further motivated by its ability to shed light on various phenomena of interest to mental health and well-being, including auditory verbal hallucinations, dissociative identity disorder, rumination in depression and anxiety, as well as the benefits of certain meditative practices. In other words, dialogism is not only defensible but also desirable.