264 Addendum by step, people acquire this horizon of meaning in a process of socialization and thus develop their identity. Their mind is literally (partly) formed by that horizon of meaning (I call this ‘mindshaping’). And since a horizon of meaning is dynamic, so is identity. In this socialization process, there are times when the self-understanding developed by children collides with the normative expectations of the community. Such identity-related coordination problems are solved by children transforming their beliefs, norms and values, in other words their identity (and the coordination problems therefore do not develop into intractable conflicts). It is also possible that the horizon of meaning of the community evolves under the influence of such clashes with new generations. What is authentic for people is therefore partly determined by the common horizon of meaning and partly by individual interpretations insofar as the horizon of meaning leaves room for this (or is adapted to it). What is authentic is therefore intersubjectively determined. This means that the ‘own’ values, beliefs, reasons and commitments that an autonomous or authentic person lives by are not found exclusively in an individual, nor in a social group, but intersubjectively, in other words ‘in the relationship between individual and others’. Authenticity is not the revelation of a true identity that every human being possesses deep down. Nor is authenticity a conformity to the prevailing values and norms in a community. Authenticity is present when there is mutual agreement about everyone’s self-understanding. The Transformative Dialogue enables parties to reach this agreement autonomously. When a child has been socialized successfully, it has appropriated the community’s horizon of meaning. His or her self-understanding is then repeatedly confirmed by the environment and it stabilizes. If the self-understanding then becomes stabilized, the misunderstanding of a fixed identity which could be discovered by an individual by consulting his own feelings and experiences may arise. Identity fixation has efficiency benefits for group collaboration. It makes the division of roles and tasks easy. This does not cause any problems in communities with a more or less stable horizon of meaning. However, in today’s globalized society, identity-related coordination problems are not limited to the socialization process of children, but adults are also regularly confronted with major differences in fundamental values. Everyone’s horizon of meaning is repeatedly questioned. If such an identity-related coordination problem concerns an aspect of one’s selfunderstanding that has become fixed, then an intractable IRMC arises. Letting go of the idea of a fixed identity makes it possible to treat intractable and seemingly unsolvable IRMCs as identity-related coordination problems that can be resolved through mutual mindshaping. This means that in a Transformative Dialogue people understand each other more deeply and form each other’s identities. The identity and mutual relationship of those involved can then become more authentic. In the literature on alternative conflict resolution, conflict is therefore not seen primarily as a problem, but as an opportunity with creative potential. The Transformative Dialogue is a form of mindshaping in which the autonomy of those involved is guaranteed, so that the resulting solution is not only stable, but also just. This does not mean that all people need to have exactly the same fundamental values, but that they have mutually compatible fundamental values, and can also work together to realize shared
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