LANGUAGE, DISCOURSE AND TOTALITARIANISM: FROM THE REDUCTION OF THE OTHER TO THE DEMOCRATIC PATHS OF DIALOGUE

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the relationship between the constitution of language and the central role of discourse in the individual’s participation within the social sphere, based on the hypothesis that the predominance of monolithic discourses fosters the emergence of totalitarian regimes. Such regimes systematically seek cultural and social homogenization, transforming all forms of alterity into threats to be eliminated, thereby contributing to the construction of exclusionary logics and potential social and political conflicts. The study adopts a hypothetical-deductive method, grounded in bibliographic research, and draws on the contributions of Michel Foucault and Ludwig Wittgenstein in the field of philosophy of language, particularly regarding the formation and functioning of language. With respect to totalitarianism and the construction of authoritarian discourse, the analysis is supported by the theoretical frameworks of Hannah Arendt and Claude Lefort. Finally, the article emphasizes the importance of the inclusion of the other and the role of dialogue, from a Habermasian perspective, as fundamental elements for the preservation of democratic societies and for resisting the consolidation of totalitarian structures.