Method
Hegelian Dialectic
Classification
- Method family
- dialogical
- Domains
- Metaphysics
Overview
Hegelian dialectic subjects a form of thought to immanent critique, showing how its own commitments generate a contradiction and a more adequate determination.
Purpose. The method explains conceptual development from within the subject matter rather than applying an external formula. It is not a fixed thesis–antithesis–synthesis recipe, nor a timeless name for every dialectical practice.
Characteristic operations
- Begin immanently: Take a concept or form of consciousness on the terms it gives itself.
- Follow its commitments: Work out what the form must include or exclude.
- Expose self-undermining: Show where those commitments contradict or destabilize the original determination.
- Preserve and transform: Develop a richer determination that retains what the earlier form established while overcoming its limit.
Used by traditions
Applied to questions
Developed from
Later developments
References
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Hegel's Dialectics
- G. W. F. Hegel, Science of Logic, Book One, opening movement from being and nothing to becoming