dialectic

noun

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di·a·lec·tic | \ ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tik

Definition of dialectic

1 philosophy : logic sense 1a(1)

2 philosophy

a : discussion and reasoning by dialogue as a method of intellectual investigation specifically : the Socratic techniques of exposing false beliefs and eliciting truth

b : the Platonic (see platonic sense 1) investigation of the eternal ideas

3 philosophy : the logic of appearances and of illusions : the logic of fallacy the dialectic of Kant

4 philosophy

a : the Hegelian process of change in which a concept or its realization passes over into and is preserved and fulfilled by its opposite also : the critical investigation of this process

b Marxism

(1) usually dialectics plural in form but singular or plural in construction : development through the stages of thesis (see thesis sense 4), antithesis, and synthesis (see synthesis sense 2b) in accordance with the laws of dialectical materialism

(2) : the investigation of this process

(3) : the theoretical application of this process especially in the social sciences

5 usually dialectics plural in form but singular or plural in construction philosophy

a : any systematic reasoning, exposition (see exposition sense 2a), or argument that juxtaposes opposed or contradictory ideas and usually seeks to resolve their conflict : a method of examining and discussing opposing ideas in order to find the truth

b : an intellectual exchange of ideas

6 philosophy : the dialectical tension or opposition between two interacting forces or elements

Dialectic: Logic Through Conversation More Example Sentences Learn More about dialectic

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Dialectic: Logic Through Conversation

Dialectic is a term used in philosophy, and the fact that it is closely connected to the ideas of Socrates and Plato is completely logical—even from an etymological point of view. Plato’s famous dialogues frequently presented Socrates playing a leading role, and dialogue comes from the Greek roots dia- (“through” or “across”) and -logue (“discourse” or “talk”). Dialect and dialectic come from dialecktos (“conversation” or “dialect”) and ultimately back to the Greek word dialegesthai, meaning “to converse.”

Conversation or dialogue was indeed at the heart of the “Socratic method,” through which Socrates would ask probing questions which cumulatively revealed his students’ unsupported assumptions and misconceptions. The goal, according to the definition in our Unabridged Dictionary, was to “elicit a clear and consistent expression of something supposed to be implicitly known by all rational beings.”

Other philosophers had specific uses of the term dialectic, including Aristotelianism, Stoicism, Kantianism, Hegelianism, and Marxism. Asking a series of questions was considered by Socrates a method of “giving birth” to the truth, and a related word, maieutic, defined as “relating to or resembling the Socratic method of eliciting new ideas from another,” comes from the Greek word meaning “of midwifery.”

Examples of dialectic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The screenplay explores—or in any case devotes some talk to—the dialectic of altruism and selfishness. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Voyagers’ Review: 2063: A Spaced-Out Odyssey," 8 Apr. 2021 The policing took place through Greenberg’s insistence on his own eye as the only arbiter of the dialectic. — Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, "Helen Frankenthaler and the Messy Art of Life," 5 Apr. 2021 As Frias continues to parallelize his narrative between America and Mexico, the two strands begin to feel less like jumps in time than a dialectic about alienation and connection, color and darkness. — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, "Review: Mexico’s ‘I’m No Longer Here’ spans the gap between alienation and connection," 26 Feb. 2021 This Founding dialectic between the popular children of light and the elite children of darkness was built into the rhetoric of Jeffersonian democracy from the start. — Cameron Hilditch, National Review, "Christianity as Ideology: The Cautionary Tale of the Jericho March," 18 Dec. 2020 The deep dialectic involves two realms of combustion. — Stephen Pyne, WSJ, "The Year Wildfires in the West Spread Like the Plague," 12 Dec. 2020 Messing with that dialectic is the peak of technological hubris. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "Who Gets a Say in Our Dystopian Tech Future?," 10 Dec. 2020 Elements of the culture drove him toward those actions, yet as is always the case in the dialectic of character and circumstance, Lincoln transformed the times. — Washington Post, "The 19th-century culture that shaped Abraham Lincoln," 13 Nov. 2020 This was always the dialectic of boxing—even the most ardent racists were trying, in their way, to deal with the fact that, under the fair-fight Queensberry Rules, a Black man could beat the living hell out of a white man. — Jay Caspian Kang, The New York Review of Books, "Ball Don’t Lie," 27 Aug. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dialectic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.