What is a “Conversation?”

I was recently pondering the idea of a “conversation” and what is necessary for “conversation”?

Obviously there needs to be two or more people present, otherwise… well lets just leave that as a given. but other than that merriam-webster.com defines conversation as:

“(1) oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas”

“(2): an instance of such exchange : an informal discussion of an issue by representatives of governments, institutions, or groups c: an exchange similar to conversation”

So basically what is essential for conversation is an “opinion” and “exchange.” In other words, it seems that one must have a view to exchange a view.

But what if one’s view is completely deconstructed and a person remains unconvinced by any opinion and therefore unsure about his or her own opinion? In other words, is it possible to have a conversation when you don’t have an opinion? I am not so sure.

Therefore, I ask in our postmodern world do we really have conversations?

~ by irenology on June 26, 2008.