dialectic

英 [,daɪə'lektɪk] 美[,daɪə'lɛktɪk]

• n. 辩证法；逻辑论证
• adj. 辩证的；辩证法的；方言的

1. any formal system of reasoning that arrives at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments

2. a contradiction of ideas that serves as the determining factor in their interaction;

"this situation created the inner dialectic of American history"