system
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human
What is dialectics?

Ive had trouble pinpointing a definition for Dialectics, from what I grasp (which could be totally off base) is that it deals with how things change and half an effect om each other. But im still unsure of what it is.

Is it a mode of thinking? Is it an analytical method? Is it a form of logic? Is it a form of argument or rhetoric? 
Is it something one could put into practice?

Are there any easy to grasp resources that give a good explanation?
gpt
The word "dialectic" comes from the Ancient Greek *dialektikos*. Originally, a dialectic was a conversation between two people. In Plato's dialogues, one person (usually Socrates) would question another person. The answerer would try to provide a definition of some concept (eg, justice, piety, knowledge, moderation, etc). The questioner would try to show that some of the answers contradicted each other. In this way, dialectic became a method of inquiry directed by a question-and-answer process. In his logical works, Aristotle refers to the dialectic as a standardized method that students at the Academy would use to practice their skills in logic. 

Plato's and Aristotle's dialectic inspired Hegel's dialectics. However, Hegel thought that that dialectic couldn't provide substantive knowledge. In Plato's dialogues, Socrates may show that some of his interlocutor's propositions are false, but his question-and-answer process doesn't prove that something is true. Hegel wants his dialectic to lead to positive, substantive determinations. 

To put it very simply, Hegel maintained that things pass through three moments:

(1) A moment of understanding. In this moment, the determination seems stable.

(2) The "dialectical" moment. A one-sidedness or restrictedness in the determination comes to the fore, and the determination passes into its opposite. The determination is both cancelled and preserved; the determination "sublates" itself. 

(3) The "speculative" moment. This is the positive result from the unity of the opposite determinations.

Most people probably know about dialectics through Marx. Marx was a Young Hegelian who applied a version of Hegel's dialectic to his investigations. However, there is controversy over how Hegelian Marx was during different points in his career. Georgi Plekhanov coined the term "dialectical materialism" to refer to the philosophy that Engels drew the outlines of in the *Anti-Duehring*.