more from J Baggini / PS Fosl

Single Idea 4635

[catalogued under 2. Reason / C. Styles of Reason / 1. Dialectic]

Full Idea

Dialectic can be said to aim at wholeness or unity, while 'analytic' thinking divides that with which it deals into parts.

Gist of Idea

Dialectic aims at unified truth, unlike analysis, which divides into parts

Source

J Baggini / PS Fosl (The Philosopher's Toolkit [2003], §2.03)

Book Reference

Baggini,J and Fosl,P.S.: 'The Philosopher's Toolkit' [Blackwells 2003], p.44


A Reaction

I don't accept this division (linked here to Hegel). I am a fan of analysis, as practised by Aristotle, but it is like dismantling an engine to identify and clean the parts, before reassembling it more efficiently.