Method
Academic Dialectic
Classification
- Method family
- dialogical
- Domains
- Epistemology
Overview
Academic dialectic investigates a question by arguing on opposing sides or by drawing consequences from an interlocutor's own commitments. The questioner can expose a contradiction without accepting the premises or conclusion as a position of their own.
Purpose. The method tests whether a theory can withstand its own standards and strong opposition. Arcesilaus, like the Pyrrhonists, ended in suspension of judgment; what separates the method from Pyrrhonian Opposition of Arguments is the procedure, which argues from an opponent's own premises without adopting them rather than setting out equally balanced cases as a standing practice. It also differs from Hegelian Dialectic, which explains development within forms of thought.
Characteristic operations
- Begin from a defended thesis: Let an interlocutor or established school supply the claim under examination.
- Draw out commitments: Use questions or accepted premises to identify what the thesis requires.
- Construct the opposing case: Argue against the thesis, or argue both sides, without treating either case as one's settled doctrine.
- Expose the difficulty: Derive a contradiction, counterexample, or unresolved opposition that keeps inquiry open.