dialectic

dialectic |ˌdīəˈlektik| Philosophy

noun (also dialectics) [usu. treated as sing. ]

1 the art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions.

2 inquiry into metaphysical contradictions and their solutions.

• the existence or action of opposing social forces, concepts, etc.

The ancient Greeks used the term dialectic to refer to various methods of reasoning and discussion in order to discover the truth. More recently, Kant applied the term to the criticism of the contradictions that arise from supposing knowledge of objects beyond the limits of experience, e.g., the soul. Hegel applied the term to the process of thought by which apparent contradictions (which he termed thesis and antithesis) are seen to be part of a higher truth (synthesis).

adjective

of or relating to dialectic or dialectics; dialectical.

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French dialectique or Latin dialectica, from Greek dialektikē (tekhnē) '(art) of debate,' from dialegesthai 'converse with' (see dialogue ).

Hegelian dialectic

Hegelian dialectic, usually presented a threefold manner, was stated by Heinrich Moritz Chalybäus as comprising three dialectical stages of development: a thesis, giving rise to its reaction, an antithesis which contradicts or negates the thesis, and the tension between the two being resolved by means of a synthesis. This model is named after Hegel but he himself never used such a formulation and denounced such ways of thinking.[27] Rather it is due to Fichte. Hegel himself preferred the term Aufhebung, variously translated into English as "sublation" or "overcoming," to conceive of the working of the dialectic. Roughly, the term indicates preserving the useful portion of an idea, thing, society, etc., while moving beyond its limitations.  .  .  Wikipedia