dialectic
English meaning: Dialectic
English Definition
(English)Dialectic (from Greek: dialektikē = the art of discussion) refers to the development of understanding through the confrontation of opposing ideas. Plato used Socratic dialogue as a dialectical method. Hegel's dialectic sees history unfolding through contradiction — a thesis generates its antithesis; their conflict produces a synthesis that becomes a new thesis. Marx adapted this as dialectical materialism.
English Definition
A method of argument through dialogue and contradiction — the Socratic method of questioning to expose contradictions and arrive at truth; or Hegel's triadic process of thesis-antithesis-synthesis through which history and thought develop.
Example
“Marx's dialectical materialism applied Hegel's dialectic to economic history — capitalism's contradictions (thesis-antithesis) would generate socialism (synthesis).”
In English: “Marx used Hegel's dialectic to argue that capitalism's internal contradictions would lead to its supersession.”
Synonyms
- Socratic method
- thesis-antithesis-synthesis
- argumentation
Antonyms / Opposites
- dogmatism
- assertion without argument
Literary Heritage
“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
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