But, as Dewey observes in his seventh chapter, it refers in everyday discourse to something direct and active.
Mr. Pinker has noted how the interplay of evolved intuition and the dynamics of discourse tends to forge agreement on something like the golden rule — that you should treat people as you expect to be treated.
An Alphabet for Gourmets (1949) is superbly witty, and A Cordiall Water (1961), a discourse on folk remedies, became something of a cult classic.
"So much for civil discourse," one quipped on Twitter.
Like Laurie, I see that normalisation as a good thing; in fact I see the freeing up of the discourse on women's reproductive choices as something to be celebrated, not as something we should be getting our collective knickers in a twist about, and most certainly not something we should be seeking to have censored.
And it is because everyone can finally agree on something that the rhetoric of innocence has become the dominant discourse within and about the criminal justice system.
But the best piano recitals, in keeping with the word "recital," should have a quasi-literary dimension, where a performer offers a discourse on music by the choice of works, something Mr. Torquati did exceptionally well in his fascinating program.
"We're very, very cautious to enter the public discourse on a medical issue unless we think we have something to add to that," he said.
His discourse on war and politics is studded too with moments of personal loss, something common to Colombians from all walks of life in this conflict.
While the media discourse on smart grids is certainly in the early stages of development and diffusion, there is something of an inexorable quality about the discourse.
