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—dialectically, adv./duy'euh lek"tik/, adj. Also, dialectical.1. of, pertaining to, or of the nature of logical argumentation.2. dialectal.n.3. the art or practice of logical discussion as employed in investigating the truth of a theory or opinion.4. logical argumentation.5. Often, dialectics.a. logic or any of its branches.b. any formal system of reasoning or thought.6. See Hegelian dialectic.7. dialectics, (often used with a sing. v.) the arguments or bases of dialectical materialism, including the elevation of matter over mind and a constantly changing reality with a material basis.8. (in Kantian epistemology) a fallacious metaphysical system arising from the attribution of objective reality to the perceptions by the mind of external objects. Cf. transcendental dialectic.9. the juxtaposition or interaction of conflicting ideas, forces, etc.[1350-1400; ME ( < AF) < L dialectica < Gk dialektiké (téchne) argumentative (art), fem. of dialektikós. See DIALECT, -IC]
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▪ logicalso called dialecticsoriginally a form of logical argumentation but now a philosophical concept of evolution applied to diverse fields including thought, nature, and history.Among the classical Greek thinkers, the meanings of dialectic ranged from a technique of refutation in debate, through a method for systematic evaluation of definitions, to the investigation and classification of the relationships between specific and general concepts. From the time of the Stoic philosophers until the end of the European Middle Ages, dialectic was more or less closely identified with the discipline of formal logic. More recently, Immanuel Kant (Kant, Immanuel) denoted by “transcendental dialectic” the endeavour of exposing the illusion involved in attempting to use the categories and principles of the understanding beyond the bounds of phenomena and possible experience. G.W.F. Hegel identified dialectic as the tendency of a notion to pass over into its own negation as the result of conflict between its inherent contradictory aspects. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels adopted Hegel's definition and applied it to social and economic processes. See also dialectical materialism.* * *
Universalium. 2010.