an idea that both parties understand and agree to, helped by the fact they’ve both been a part of the process that shaped it. Dialectic is intended to help draw closer to the “truth” of an argument, tempering any viewpoint by working through and resolving its flaws. This same process can also be used to persuade.
The philosopher Georg Hegel is most famous for popularizing a type of dialectics that is particularly well-suited to writing: thesis, antithesis, synthesis (also known, unsurprisingly, as Hegelian Dialectic).
Thesis: Present the status quo, the viewpoint that is currently accepted and widely held. Antithesis: Articulate the problems with the thesis. (Hegel also called this phase “the negative.”) Synthesis: Share a new viewpoint (a modified thesis) that resolves the problems.
Hegel’s method focused less on the search for absolute truth and more on replacing old ideas with newer, more sophisticated versions.
Reduces complex arguments into a simple three-act structure
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