Dialogue

A dialogue is verbal exchange of ideas. Dialogues are conducted in different forms:

Conversation a group of people having one or more dialogues. It could be in the form of one person talking and the rest listening, or two or more people speak among each other in smaller groups, and simultaneously. Subjects are usually decided spontaneously. Everyone expresses his or her own ideas without any consideration of keeping turns or keeping with a subject. Conversation does not follow any rule or preference unless it is in one of the following forms:

Speech a group of people listen to the speaking of one person, in a casual basis. Considering that a speech is not structured, listeners can interrupt the speaker with or without remarks. A speaker makes the speech voluntarily and his ideas may or may not be shared by others. The subject of the speech is usually a continuation of the conversation in progress, however the speaker can start a new subject for conversation. Usually the topic of a speech is spontaneous, but the speaker can have a subject matter prepared earlier. Speeches occur in non-structured places such as a house or a club. A speech can turn into a form of an argument, a discussion, or a debate. A speaker can replace the previous speaker at any time, while he or she can speak more than once.

Lecture a speaker speaks for a group of people. Participant in a lecture listen to the speaker without interruption. The speaker is previously assigned. A moderator usually conducts a lecture, who announces ahead of time the speaker and the subject of the speech, for those interested. The convention of the speech is often pronounced by the moderator, but sometimes the lecturer announces the set of rules governing the lecture, including audience’s ovation. At the end of each lecture, audiences participate in a Q&A session, which is usually related to the subject of the lecture.

Debate a certain subject is investigated by participants before it is discussed. Someone is usually moderating a debate and gives each participant an equal time to express his or her ideas. Number of people participating in a debate does not usually exceed five, as it will make it difficult for one to moderate more than five people. Participants in a debate are selected among those who have full knowledge of the topic, but with differing ideas and beliefs. The moderator has total control of the debate, keeping in mind to lead the debate to a certain conclusion.

Discussion participants speak over a certain subject, from varying angels. A person may be selected as a moderator. It is important that participants take turns in expressing themselves. In a discussion, participants are usually divided in two or three groups with differing ideas, all trying to come to a commonly agreed upon point. Sometimes they insist on their own points, trying to convince other groups to agree to theirs. Physically, a discussion can be between two people, or several people in the form of a round table. The discussion usually ends with the participants agreeing on some common points as a compromise, if not totally convinced. The subject of the discussion can be idealistic, metaphysical, or dialectical. An example for an idealistic discussion is “it will eventually work out”. Metaphysical discussion is like saying “whatever God’s will is”. An example of dialectical discussion is “one work in order to receive the fruit of his toil.” Earlier subject forms are clear. Latter form will be discussed further below.

Dialectic it is the most logical and refined form of a dialogue. Early man used to work with his bare hands. By advancement of technology and improvement of industries, machineries replaced bare hands. A good example is the evolution of wooden plows into present day tractors. A better example is evolution of computer chips, which keep getting smaller in size while improving in memories. Form of discussion has gone through the process of evolution in the same manner, starting from arguments and advancing into dialectical discussions. This form of discussion had achieved its highest point in 19th century. Of course, we can find people who still use plows, or those (such as war monger leaders) who can only prove their points by their nails and teeth. The philosophy of dialectic was first mentioned in Plato’s book “Socratic Dialogues”. This form of discussion was very popular in the 19th century, based on four principles: 1. Everything is flowing in time and there is an end to all; 2. Everything is made up of two opposing elements; 3. Change causes the direction of points to change as well; 4. Change is spiral, not circular (some of these principles have changed by some philosophers of various theorems). In addition to Socrates, Hegel and Marx incorporated philosophy of dialectic in their studies.