dialectic

noun

• 1the art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions.

• 2inquiry into metaphysical contradictions and their solutions.
• the existence or action of opposing social forces, concepts, etc..

The ancient Greeks used the term dialectic to refer to various methods of reasoning and discussion in order to discover the truth. More recently, Kant applied the term to the criticism of the contradictions that arise from supposing knowledge of objects beyond the limits of experience, e.g., the soul. Hegel applied the term to the process of thought by which apparent contradictions (which he termed thesis and antithesis) are seen to be part of a higher truth (synthesis)

adjective

• of or relating to dialectic or dialectics; dialectical.