DIALECTIC
dialectic (dI-<<schwa>>-lek-tik), n.1. A school of logic that teaches critical examination of
the truth of an opinion, esp. by discussion or debate. • The method was applied by ancient
philosophers, such as Plato and Socrates, primarily in the context of conversational discussions
involving questions and answers, and also by more modern philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant,
who viewed it as a theory of fallacies, and G.W.F. Hegel, who applied the term to his philosophy
proceeding from thesis, to antithesis, to synthesis. 2. An argument made by critically examining
logical consequences. 3. A logical debate. 4. A disputant; a debater. Pl. dialectics. [Blacks Law 8th]