Paradigmas Vol. 5, No. 2 | Page 44

Rosa María Lince Campillo & Martha Singer Sochet Dialogue, an essential condition of democracy O diálogo, condição imprescindível da democracia Abstract Based on a broad definition of politics as the art of designing and constructing social actors, this paper examines the importance of spaces for dialogue that enable confronting and debating different perspectives and positions about a specific situation. For this reason, this paper is based on the premise that humans are social beings and as such they are able to communicate. It also considers that these distinct forms of (symbolic) language are present and active in the social interaction of different actors and affect the different social actions as forms of communication, with the purpose of reaching multilateral agreements. Finally, the paper argues that democracy is not possible without dialogue and that politics is the art of generating and maintaining spaces where issues of public interest can be freely and openly debated, in order to achieve agreements, negotiations and consensus, without ignoring the difficulties of recognizing, respecting and understanding others a valid interlocutors. Resumo Partindo de uma definição ampla da política como atividade mediante a qual se desenha e constrói o sujeito social, este texto revisa a importância do espaço dialógico onde se confrontam argumentativamente diversas concepções e posições frente a uma determinada situação. Por isso, parte da premissa de que o ser humano, enquanto é social, tem a capacidade H