"Discussion in a Democratic Society" Blog #1

I found this chapter interesting, in that it had many different example about how to discuss, and sort of the rules associated with it. Basically, everyone needs to respect a speaker when they are contributing to a discussion, but there can and probably will be differences of opinions. I really liked the line "He believes that discussion is more serious than conversation in that it requires the participants to be both “mutually responsive” to the different views expressed and disposed to be “affected by opinions one way or another in so far as (on some criteria) they merit acceptance or approval” I feel that this is important because it is saying that in order to have a decent discussion, all participants have to be willing to fully engage in discussion. It also explains about the hierarchy of a discussion and how someone can seem more privileged in their discussions. I tend to find this is true when someone disagrees with another person. There is this sort of pull, or need to convert them to their side of thinking. According to this chapter, this is not a good thing, and is actually detrimental to a good discussion.