Currently, two trends are converging that will shape the future of communication theory. One is "the new narcissism"--a phenomenon characterized by prescriptions for personal fulfillment such as those reflected in popular psychologies and religions. The second trend is the scientific revolution concerned with exchanging static models of reality…

Developmental studies have primarily focused on what takes place within the confines of a given interpersonal system (first order development). What has been neglected is second order development, the interpersonal communication that alters the system itself. From this particular developmental perspective, a model can be used that illustrates and…

This paper discusses the question of the legitimacy of applying structural analysis to actual human behavior and illustrates its legitimacy by using the reasoning in an essay by Paul Ricoeur. It then asks if the principles of communication development (obliqueness, exchange, and dying) derived from Helen Keller's experience of communication…