Dialectician
Encyclopedia
A dialectician is a philosopher who views the world in terms of complementary opposites and the interactions thereof. In popular usage, the central feature of dialectic
is the concept of "thesis, antithesis, synthesis
" - when an idea or phenomenon (thesis) arises, it carries within itself the seed of its opposite (antithesis), and the interplay of these polarities leads to a synthesis which is somehow beyond the scope of either polarity alone. In turn, the synthesis is now itself a new thesis, and the entire process can begin again.
Dialecticians sometimes refer to this process as "the negation of the negation," meaning that as soon as the contradiction between thesis and antithesis is resolved by synthesis, the fact that a new thesis has emerged gives rise to a new antithesis and therefore another contradiction. This process of successive negation is not seen as self-defeating, however, for it is progressive, and each new synthesis is seen as an improvement (or at least a refinement) of the understanding from which it was derived.
Historically, dialecticians and dialectical thought have been primarily associated with Marxism
, as the philosophical grounding of Marxism is based on a materialist
interpretation of Hegelian
dialectic. However, individuals widely recognized as dialecticians exist outside of Marxism. Indeed, dialectic is as least as old as Plato, who argues that it is the process by which one ascends the divided line (cf. "Republic" book VI) to reach the "unhypothetical first principle of everything." Plotinus, too, argued that dialectic was necessary in order to become Intellect, the second hypostasis, in the soul's search for the One.
Dialectic
Dialectic is a method of argument for resolving disagreement that has been central to Indic and European philosophy since antiquity. The word dialectic originated in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato in the Socratic dialogues...
is the concept of "thesis, antithesis, synthesis
Thesis, antithesis, synthesis
The triad thesis, antithesis, synthesis is often used to describe the thought of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel never used the term himself, and almost all of his biographers have been eager to discredit it....
" - when an idea or phenomenon (thesis) arises, it carries within itself the seed of its opposite (antithesis), and the interplay of these polarities leads to a synthesis which is somehow beyond the scope of either polarity alone. In turn, the synthesis is now itself a new thesis, and the entire process can begin again.
Dialecticians sometimes refer to this process as "the negation of the negation," meaning that as soon as the contradiction between thesis and antithesis is resolved by synthesis, the fact that a new thesis has emerged gives rise to a new antithesis and therefore another contradiction. This process of successive negation is not seen as self-defeating, however, for it is progressive, and each new synthesis is seen as an improvement (or at least a refinement) of the understanding from which it was derived.
Historically, dialecticians and dialectical thought have been primarily associated with Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, as the philosophical grounding of Marxism is based on a materialist
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
interpretation of Hegelian
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
dialectic. However, individuals widely recognized as dialecticians exist outside of Marxism. Indeed, dialectic is as least as old as Plato, who argues that it is the process by which one ascends the divided line (cf. "Republic" book VI) to reach the "unhypothetical first principle of everything." Plotinus, too, argued that dialectic was necessary in order to become Intellect, the second hypostasis, in the soul's search for the One.
Famous dialecticians
- PlatoPlatoPlato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
- PlotinusPlotinusPlotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his system of theory there are the three principles: the One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition...
- Kierkegaard
- Hegel
- HeraclitusHeraclitusHeraclitus of Ephesus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Asia Minor. He was of distinguished parentage. Little is known about his early life and education, but he regarded himself as self-taught and a pioneer of wisdom...
- Nietzsche
- NagarjunaNagarjunaNāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
- Jayathirtha
- Vyasathirtha
- Madhusūdana SarasvatīMadhusudana SarasvatiMadhusūdana Sarasvatī was an Indian philosopher in the Advaita Vedānta tradition. He is disciple of viSveSvara sarasvatI and mAdhava sarasvatI, is the most celebrated name in the annals of the great dvaita-advaita debate. He also flourished in the 16th century...
- Marx
- SocratesSocratesSocrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
- ZhuangziZhuangziZhuangzi was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, a period corresponding to the philosophical summit of Chinese thought — the Hundred Schools of Thought, and is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name,...