This paper attempts to provide a rationale for a 'model of the public sphere' in terms of hermeneutic ontology that begins from Heidegger's Being and Time. However, this Heideggerian hermeneutic ontology will both be weakened and extended through a dialogue with social theory, which occupies a central place in this paper. More specifically, the main aim of this paper is to suggest some ideas to bridge the gap between the ontological focus on the hermeneutic fore-structure of being-in-the-public-sphere and the focus (...) of social theory on the nexus between constructing identity and narrative, the result of which is the idea of the public sphere as an openended intercultural dialogue. (shrink)