dialectic
noun
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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
Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 9 Mar. 2024
Another of their Marxist tactics is the dialectic that cunningly adheres a statement of truth to advance an evil agenda i.e .
—For The Carroll County Times, Baltimore Sun, 11 Feb. 2024
The main living area, clearly designed for a large family, also toys with that opulent-yet-cozy dialectic.
—Tom Weijand, Robb Report, 15 Feb. 2024
The two scores that Lewis presented at the Armory embodied a dialectic of complexity and play.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024
Ruscha’s photographs—deliberately graceless taxonomies of parking lots, swimming pools, palm trees, and the like—seem thin by comparison, lacking the paintings’ dialectic of innocence and wit.
—Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023
Schools exist to stifle freedom, and also to inculcate it, a dialectic that is the essence of true education.
—A.o. Scott, New York Times, 21 June 2023
Steven Spielberg extends Griffith’s and Ford’s historical insight through an astonishing mix of visual and ideational dialectics.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 June 2023
Joe is beginning to discover not just the relationship between the world and his aesthetic impulses, but also the bloody, vital interplay between writing, politics, and the world, with the ensuing dialectic of failure and hope that forms the subject of Tobar’s own novel.
—Siddhartha Deb, The New Republic, 25 Aug. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dialectic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Dialectic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialectic. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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