Dissent occurs from dissent (the lack of agreement).
The etymological origin of dissensus is found in the Latin word dissensus . Dissent refers to a discrepancy , a disagreement or a disagreement .
For example: "There is dissent in the government regarding how to confront the agricultural crisis" , "In my work team there is room for dissent and dialogue" , "The fascist regime did not tolerate dissent and appealed to various repressive mechanisms to silence to the opponents « .
It can be said that dissent arises from dissent : that is, when there is no coincidence with someone's feelings or opinion. Two people who disagree, therefore, do not think the same about a certain issue. Coincidence or agreement, on the other hand, produces a consensus .
Different positions on dissent
There are various positions on dissent. Authoritarian governments , to cite one case, do not endorse dissent since they choose to censor criticism. In this way, if someone expresses themselves against the government , that dissent tries to be eliminated through different types of punishments. Authoritarianism can also appear in a company, in a club or in other organizations, always trying to prevent dissent.
In other contexts, dissent is valued as something positive . There are those who believe that the debate and confrontation between different opinions or ideas can be enriching: dissent, in this framework, can be the starting point for the construction of a new element or the development of a novel thought. Suppose that, at a company board meeting, a group of executives arrives with a project and meets another who brings a very different proposal. At first there is dissent: each sector objects to the other's undertaking. As the talks and negotiations progress, everyone finally agrees to finalize an alternative project that brings together points from the two options raised in the first stage.
The same can occur in positions as opposite as carnism and veganism, which represent the group of people who consume products of animal origin and the opposite, who only eat plant foods, respectively. While carnists consider that animals are resources that the planet makes available to us and that we must exploit them to, among other things, feed ourselves, vegans believe in the equality of all species, and for that reason they refuse to kill to eat. . The dissent is clear, and can be seen in many debates in public media.
Dissent is enriching when it allows us to reach a new conclusion or develop something new.
The importance of dialogue
No matter how delicate the topics are in a clearly polarized debate , that is, where the parties express opposing ideas, dissent can always lead to conversation, exchange and growth for all participants, as long as it is expressed in a clear manner. orderly and respectful.
One of the best starting points when talking to someone on the opposing side is to ask them "why." It is not advisable to enter the conversation with accusations and statements, but rather to begin by asking for information to try to understand the other's position. Every human being can think that their point of view is the correct one, that their particular vision of reality is the true one, so to speak; and perhaps this is natural, but we should not feed that egocentrism and validate it as an argument in an argument.
It is also recommended to put empathy into practice, even in cases where we know that we would never change our mind to adopt the other's position. If we are talking to someone whose ideas seem atrocious to us, it doesn't hurt to put ourselves in their shoes simply to change our perspective and understand why they think that way. Ideally, this will give us more tools to turn dissent into consensus.