About Dialogue
What does it mean to have a dialogue?
I will introduce the sentences related to this topic from the treatise of the caretaker representative.
Broadly defined “dialogue” includes all linguistic communication except monologue. Through the exchange of words with others, something is shared and becomes common. Linguistic communication can change dramatically depending on what you share.
In the case of the Café Mortal, “questions” are presented. There are many ways to construct a question – sharing a person’s question, through reading a picture book, or making a question on the spot. Once the question is set to be presented, it is no longer confined issue, and the dialogue is open to everyone. The question opens up a public place. Nobody knows the answer. That’s why the question is a “question”. We are faced the same question, and are equal as no one knows the answer. We cherish having differences each other and are able to go on a trip for inquiry together.
The “dialogue” of the Café Mortal proceeds in this way. Let me call this “dialogue” in a narrow sense and distinguish it from “discussion,” “debate,” and “conversation.” In the narrow sense of “dialogue,” you turn the spot light on the premise that supports the opinions of oneself and others. Participant A should have come to have the opinion of B based on appropriate contexts, circumstances, and judgments. Of course, that may be a projection of his/her own beliefs -that’s why Bohm calls it an “assumption.” However, it is never easy to judge the propriety of it for anybody. That is why “dialogue” accepts each idea as it is, paying attention to the reason and background without making hasty decisions. You ask them to gain in-depth understanding, but don’t parry or argue. In this respect, “dialogue” is distinguished from “discussion,” “debate,” and “conversation.” In discussions, debates, and conversations, openly asserted opinions and ideas receive attentions, and the assumptions that underpin them remain unnoticed.
Based on the above understanding of “dialogue”, the author has established a place for dialogue to share the issues of life and death. At the Cafe Mortal, manifold questions have been shared and various dialogues have been attempted.
- “Dialogue and Compassion: as clues to the ideological foundation of the community that supports life and death” (Hirobumi Takenouchi, included in “Contemporary Religion 2022”.)