Cycle 15 · 13 Apr 2026Language and thought: the case of Lavoisier- 30:26The astronomer addresses a mute object, in monologue; Socrates addresses the astronomer, who can answer.
Dialogue
Worked through in 9 videos · 10 passages.
Summary
Dominique Pagani defines dialogue by contrasting it with monologue. He often returns to the same example, from 2015 to 2026: the astronomer, or the astrologer, questions a mute object such as the sun and remains in a subject-object relation, whereas Socrates addresses the astronomer, who can answer, and establishes a subject-subject relation1. One cannot dialogue with the sun; dialogue begins when one speaks to someone who can answer2. The question "what do you call…?", put to the one who names the thing, marks this shift. For him, it is the genuine philosophical question, in place of "what is it?"34. He specifies that dialogue does not aim at agreement with the other but at agreement with oneself5. He also stresses its dramatic form: discourses clash in it, and truth arises from their collision, like the spark between two stones6. Finally, he extends the notion to music, where the concerto is a concertation between the orchestra and soloists7.
- 1Language and thought: the case of Lavoisier13 Apr 2026 · 30:26
- 2From Plato to world revolution14 Jul 2022 · 21:39
- 3#9.11 How can sciences of history be real?7 Jan 2021 · 1:11:49
- 4And what about the subject in all this? Hölderlin, Mallarmé and Baudelaire28 Sept 2022 · 23:40
- 5Hegel on the Beach 1/51 Feb 2016 · 1:05:07
- 6From Plato to world revolution14 Jul 2022 · 1:48
- 7#13 Mozart restored2 Feb 2021 · 13:30
Summary produced automatically from 10 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.
Cycle 15 · 13 Apr 2026Language and thought: the case of Lavoisier
Cycle 11 · 28 Sept 2022And what about the subject in all this? Hölderlin, Mallarmé and Baudelaire- 23:40The philosophical question is "what do you call?", addressed to a subject who can answer, and not "what is it?".
Talks · 14 Jul 2022From Plato to world revolution
Series · 2 Feb 2021#13 Mozart restored- 13:30The concerto is a dialogue, a concertation between orchestra and soloists.
Cycle 9.2 · 7 Jan 2021#9.11 How can sciences of history be real?- 1:11:49The astronomer who questions the sun conducts a monologue on essence; Socrates dialogues with the astronomer and asks "what do you call the sun?"
Cycle 5.1 · 13 Jan 2019#5.3 bis Questions (Facebook Live)- 12:06The astronomer who questions a mute object is in monologue; Socrates, who addresses one who speaks, moves to dialogue.
Series · 1 Feb 2016Hegel on the Beach 1/5- 1:05:07With Socrates's "what do you call...?", one moves from monologue to dialogue: the point is not to agree with the other, but with oneself.
Series · 29 Jan 2016What is to be done? 1/3- 50:52The astronomer engages in a monologue with an object that does not answer; Socrates asks "what do you call?" of the one who names the thing.
Cycle 1 · 14 Sept 2015#1.2 Between crisis and war: philosophising?- 20:07The astrologer is in monologue, a subject-object relation; Socrates is in dialogue, a subject-subject relation. Philosophy questions the words that connect us.