Dialectic

Dialectic is a method of reasoning that examines opposing claims or contradictions to clarify concepts or develop a more comprehensive understanding.

Socratic method: A form of inquiry that tests beliefs through disciplined questions and answers. Socratic questioning is a prominent dialectical method for exposing assumptions and contradictions.
Socrates: An Athenian philosopher of the fifth century BCE known chiefly through accounts by his students. Accounts of Socrates established question-and-answer inquiry as a model of dialectical examination.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: A German philosopher whose idealist system interprets reality and thought as historical development. Hegel made dialectical development central to his account of thought, history, and reality.
Formal logic: The study of valid inference through abstract rules and structures. Formal logic evaluates inference validity, while dialectic often tests claims through exchange and opposition.
Dialectical materialism: A Marxist philosophical approach that interprets material reality and social change through conflict and development. It recasts dialectical development in material and historical terms.
Hegelian dialectic: A philosophical approach in which contradictions within thought or reality prompt transformation. It treats contradiction as a driver of conceptual development, not merely an error to remove.
Plato: An ancient Greek philosopher whose dialogues explore ethics, knowledge, politics, and reality. Plato’s dialogues made dialectic a central route toward philosophical knowledge.
Karl Marx: A German philosopher and political economist whose writings criticize capitalism and analyze class relations. Marx adapted dialectical thought to material conditions and social conflict.
Demonstration: An argument establishing a conclusion from premises that necessitate it. Aristotle distinguished demonstrative proof from dialectical argument based on accepted opinions.
Historical materialism: A theory explaining historical change through material production and social relations. Marxist dialectics informed its account of conflict and transformation in human societies.

Linked from 22 pages