Dialectical Enquiry
Dialectics

12manage reaches 100.000 members

Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis. Explanation Dialectic Inquiry. Dialectics.


  

Join our management communities

Register a Free Membership


Full Name:*
Company:  
Street + nr:*
City:*
State:  
Postal Code:*
Country:*
E-mail:* (This will be your username)
I agree to the Terms of Service.

History of Dialectic Inquiry (Dialectics)

Dialectic Inquiry or Dialectics has a long history during which the meaning and understanding of the terminology changed. In Asia, the idea that everything is made of opposites, yin and yang, goes back to I Ching around 3,000 years ago, and the Taoist master Lao Tzu around 2,500 years ago. Taoism holds that change is the only constant. Taoist philosophy also learns that "gradual change results in a sudden change of form (hua)". Also around 2,500 years ago, in ancient Greece, Heraclites had the idea that all change comes through the struggle of opposites. The Aztecs also held the idea of the earth is made of opposites. The Lakotas in North America shared this belief. In Plato's dialogues, Socrates typically "argues" by means of cross-examining of someone else's assertions. In this way he draws out the inherent contradictions within the position of his opponent. Aristoteles compared Dialectics with Rhetoric (the art of convincing others), saying that dialectics are dealing with an upright looking for the truth. For an unknown reason, the idea of everything being made of opposites died out in the western world, until Kant and Hegel revitalized the idea of dialectics at the time the industrial revolution was beginning. Finally Fichte made the implicit triad existing in Hegel's work explicit, by clearly distinguishing between Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis, and this idea was subsequently extended by Marx and Engels.
 

dialectic inquiry dialecticsWhat is dialectics? Definitions

  • A logical process of arriving at the truth by putting in juxtaposition contrary propositions; a term often used in medieval philosophy and theology, and also in the writings of Hegel and Marx.
  • A philosophical term applied to methods of debate or argumentation that seek to prove or disprove the truth of something by the rules of logic or the laws of reasoning.
  • A thinking and communication process based on change through the conflict of (seemingly) opposing forces (paradoxes)
  • Compare the picture on the right to appreciate the important difference between dialectics and a trade-off (~mix), a dilemma, a puzzle, and an average.

Benefits of the Dialectic Inquiry Method

Strategy, Management and Business Ethics are all complex by nature. Dialectics offer a number of advantages to those that must deal with this inherent complexity, and with these seemingly contradicting forces (tensions).

 

De Wit and Meyer (Strategy: Process, Content, Context) mention the following advantages of taking a dialectical approach to strategic paradoxes and complexity (instead of treating the tensions as puzzles, dilemma's or trade-offs or taking the average):

  1. A range of ideas can be exploited
  2. Help focus on points of contention (critical points)
  3. Provides a stimulus for bridging seemingly irreconcilable opposites
  4. Provides a stimulus for creativity (trying to find a synthesis, which is better than the trade-off between the opposites)

A method resembling Dialectics is the Devil's Advocate Approach. This method is also useful in exposing underlying assumptions, but has a tendency to emphasize the negative, whereas dialectical inquiry is a more balanced and harmonious approach.

 

Book: Bob de With and Ron Meyer - Strategy: Process, Content, Context -

Book: Alex Lowy and Phil Hood - The Power of the 2x2 Matrix - Using 2x2 Thinking.. -

Book: Barry Johnson - Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems -

Book: Charles M. Hampden-Turner, Fons Trompenaars - Building Cross-Cultural Competence.. -

 

Dialectical Enquiry Special Interest Group


Visit the Special Interest Group

Dialectical Enquiry Forum

Recent User Comments
Lothar - Germany Dealing with Paradoxes in Organizations "Organizations are paradoxical in lots of ways and executives have to decide what to do with the intrinsically contradicting nature of many managerial issues.
It's useful to distinguish two (paradoxical!) approaches if you're faced with a paradox in an organization:
1. ACCEPT THE PARADOX. 1A. The poles cannot be solved by their very nature 1B. The poles operate at different levels of the organization (e.g. individual, departmental, business unit, corporate level) 1C. The poles operate at different moments in time (following each other).
2. (TRY TO) SOLVE THE PARADOX. 2A. Choose for one of the opposite sides (dilemma) 2B. Strike a balance between the two poles (average/trade off) 2C. Integrate the two poles (synthesis).
So next time you're facing a complex organizational issue, try to "play" in your mind with the above 2 approaches towards paradoxes at the same time."		    7
 - Netherlands Dialectics Business Case: Toyota "3 professors of Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy in Tokio claim that the immense succes of Toyota is as much due to its ability to embrace contradictions as to its well-known manufacturing process. In their article "The Contradictions That Drive Toyota's Success (HBR June 2008) Hirotaka Takeuchi, Emi Osono and Norohiko Shimizu explain how a culture of fostering contradictions has been key to Toyota's success."    -1
Jordan - UK Dialectic Ability "Is the ability to hold 2 seemingly opposing ideas in mind, and to combine and to resolve them in an unexpected, creative way innate, or can it be learned?"    -1
Comment on this Page

Dialectical Enquiry Education & Events


 

Compare with: Delphi Method  |  Root Cause Analysis  |  Analogical Strategic Reasoning  |  Pyramid Principle  |  Theory of Constraints  |  Brainstorming  |  Cause and Effect Diagram  |  Six Thinking Hats  |  System Dynamics  |  Scenario Planning  |  Game Theory  |  Spiral Dynamics  |  Real Options  |  Kepner-Tregoe Matrix  |  Plausibility Theory  |  Chaos Theory  |  Soft Systems Methodology  |  Mind Mapping

 

Return to Management Hub: Communication & Skills  |  Ethics & Responsibility  |  Strategy

 

More Management Methods, Models and Theory

12manage for:

 

 
Copyright 2009 12manage - The Executive Fast Track. V10.4 - Last updated: 11/7/2009. All names tm by their owners.

  ● Babacar Ndione (Senegal) Contribution "Dear Lothar, it is with a big interest that I read your article. Thanks a lot for your contribution! Yours Sincerly, Babacar"
  ● Denny (United States) Source of Paradoxes "Whenever a Paradox presents itself, be it in business or life, the access to moving beyond it is to get clear on the source of the paradox. You do this by examining at what level of thinking was the paradox created. What are the assumptions and intentions behind each side? What is the single highest level outcome that is desired? Most often what you will see is the Paradox will melt away as new options and possibilities will present themselves because what was fixed, no longer remains fixed."
  ● James C. (UK) Definition of Paradox "Wikipedia says a paradox is a statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition; or, it can be an apparent contradiction that actually expresses a non-dual truth. Typically, either the statements in question do not really imply the contradiction, the puzzling result is not really a contradiction, or the premises themselves are not all really true or cannot all be true together."
  ●  (Netherlands) Reconcilating seemingly contradicting forces, interests and approaches "Indeed Lothar, organizations are complex and can be viewed as meeting places for colliding forces, interests, etc as well as colliding approaches to deal with them. For simplicity sake, these phenomena can be temporarily represented as if they were contradicting, but the danger of doing so is that in reality they are NOT and the optimal solution, innovation, progress or strategy can only be found through reconcilating the seemingly contradicting forces, interests and approaches at hand.
As G.B. Shaw put it: For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong."
  ● Sheila (India) Assuming other Persons' Perspective "Paradoxes are apparent contradictions, manifested as a result of the differences in perceived realities of people. One way to deal with this is to assume other persons' perspective, so that the perceived reality can become somewhat homogeneous. It is still subject to different interpretations and treatments, due to the richness of human behavior. But the highest possible level of outcome may then be achieved, I think."
  ● Zikria (Pakistan) Dialetics "I do believe that if one is not a solution to the problem one is part of the problem but here the paradox is different. See my article on the web with the name of PARADOXES OF POKHRAN STRATEGY."


  ● alex lowy (canada) dialectical inquiry "We refer to this in our work as "2 x 2 thinking". While some people come to this naturally, many do not. As with most capabilities in life, natural ability or inclination is a great advantage. However, I have seen the other thinker types, "either-or" rise to impressive heights of 2 x 2 after periods of struggle to control or resolve the unresolvable. My view is that the dialectical view is indeed learnable, but the path is neither direct nor simple, typically involving personal challenge and change."