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Classical Liberal Arts Academy

Dialectic

Lesson 01: Introduction (Updated 08/24/2009)

Before you begin:  The Loeb Classical Edition of Aristotle's Topics is required for this course.  To order this book, click here.  This page is designed to be printed for use away from the computer--make sure your browser's text size is set to "Medium".

1. Study the Prelection.

2. Study the Reading Assignment

3. Complete the Memory Work

4. Complete the Lesson Exercises

(if any)

5. Complete the Lesson Examination

1.  Prelection

Many students today complain about how difficult it is to speak in public or write an essay.  It is common to hear students saying "I can't think of anything to write." or "I'm not a good writer."   Teachers try their best to help students by giving them lots of practice and helpful pointers in grammar and structure, but students, parents and schools remain frustrated.  There have been a million and one different ideas proposed for solving this problem except for one:  Go back to the way it was done in the past.

Throughout history, students did not learn to write by practicing writing.  "Writing" is not an art, it is simply a way of communicating--just like speaking, typing, painting or using sign language.  The reason why students can't think of what to write is because they've never been taught how to figure out what to think.  The arts of thinking and arguing must be learned by students before they can be asked to write out their thoughts and arguments!   After all, if a student cannot think well, they will also fail to speak well, since they need to speak their thoughts.  Writing is no problem when a student knows how to answer difficult questions and make strong arguments.  When we add to our clear thinking the art of persuasion in Rhetoric, we will find ourselves fully equipped for excellence in writing, without any annoying "writing" classes.

Now, we don't usually think of thinking or arguing as arts, but they are.  There are rules and methods--even tricks--that we must learn and practice to become great thinkers.  Most students today don't study these arts and are not skilled in them.  (The reason why schools don't teach thinking and arguing is a very long story!) In the CLAA, however, we certainly will study them and enjoy the benefits we gain from them in every area of our lives.  We will see that it is this knowledge that will make speaking and writing much easier in the future--because we will know what needs to be done and how to do it.  As we begin, we should define some terms.

ARISTOTLE

We will begin the study of the art of thinking and arguing by studying Dialectic in an ancient book called the Topics, written by Aristotle.  By many writers, including St. Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle is simply called "The Philosopher".  He is the most famous philosopher in the history of the world, and has been studied by the wisest men for well over 2000 years.  However, this study has never been easy!  St. Augustine, who lived around 400 AD,  boasted of his ability to read one of Aristotle's books without any help--but he was twenty years old at the time.  Augustine explained that most students needed to have a teacher explain Aristotle to them--you should expect the same. 

Aristotle lived in Greece around 350 years before Jesus Christ was born.  He taught students philosophy in a famous school known as the Lyceum and later was hired by a king to train his son, who grew to be known as Alexander the Great.  His ideas were so excellent that the Catholic Church approved his teachings for Catholic students--even though he was not a Christian.  When you study Aristotle, you will be reading the exact books and learning the same ideas that were studied by St. Augustine, St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Ignatius and many other saints when they were in school hundreds of years ago. 

So, remember that in this course we are studying the thoughts of one of the most brilliant human beings to ever live, so we shouldn't be surprised that some things we will read may be difficult for us to understand.   For Aristotle to explain his ideas to us is similar to a mother or father trying to explain their ideas to a young child.   Aristotle was much smarter than we are and we must be patient and work to understand what he is trying to explain to us.

The key to understanding Aristotle is to read slowly and to re-read any sentences that are difficult to understand the first time through, while continuing to move forward.  He does not waste words, so sometimes you will find a lot of important information packed into one sentence.  Also, many of the pages we will read were actually collected from his students' notes and that makes them even more difficult to follow.  Nevertheless, we must be patient and humble, willing to re-read sentences and paragraphs until we understand them.  Over time, we will become more and more comfortable with his ideas and forget our early struggles.  In the end, we  will join St. Augustine in being able to say that we have read and understood Aristotle--an achievement that sets us among a very small group of students today.

GETTING STARTED WITH LOGIC

Logic is the art of thinking or reasoning rightly (Greek logos = reason), but there are different kinds of reasoning that form different branches of Logic.  What makes them different are the kinds of arguments they use.  In Analytics (Philosophy I), arguments begin with statements that everyone can see are true with no proof being needed.  This is called demonstrative reasoning (Latin demonstrare = to show).  In Dialectic, arguments begin with statements that most men accept to be true--even though there may be no way of proving that they are in fact true. This is called dialectical reasoning. A third kind of reasoning is contentious reasoning, which involves statements that appear to be dialectical statements, but really are not believed to be true by most men.  Lastly, there is false reasoning, which appears to be reasoning but consists of conclusions that are drawn from errors.

We will work throughout this course and throughout your entire time studying in the CLAA to identify these four kinds of reasoning.  From this point on, you should think about the arguments you hear people make and ask: "Are they demonstrative, dialectical, contentious or false?".

THE USES & OBJECTIVES OF STUDYING DIALECTIC 

Aristotle explains for us the uses of this study, so that we know why it's worth our time and effort.  There are three uses of the art of Dialectic.  First, Dialectic provides our minds with a method by which we will be able to argue easily about any subject.  A student who never learns a method for answering questions is left to good luck--and this is how you'll hear most students describe essay writing today.  A student who masters the method attacks questions with a proven strategy and is protected against errors by the wisdom gained through the art.    Second, Dialectic helps us in conversations by allowing us to focus on the opinions of the person with whom we are arguing rather than those of others.  Thirdly, Dialectic helps us to see both sides of every problem, a skill that greatly helps us in the study of the sciences and higher arts later in our studies.

There are three objectives we must complete in order to reach these goals.  First, we must known the kinds of statements on which our reasoning rests.  Second, we must know the subjects of arguments and how many they are.  Third, we must know the way to store up these arguments. 

When we have completed these three objectives, we will be able to enter into any argument and know all of the tools available to us to argue well.  Imagine being asked a question and knowing exactly how to go after the answer, knowing that your response will be clear and persuasive!  When we reach that level of skill, we will find public speaking and writing to be no problem at all.

But first, we must wrestle with The Philosopher.

2.  Reading Assignment

Aristotle, Topics, Book I, Sections I-III
(Loeb pp. 273-279, ending at "adequate degree".)

1.  What is the purpose of Aristotle's Topics?

2.  What two things are we seeking to discover by the study of Dialectic?

3.  What is Reasoning?

4.  What are the four kinds of Reasoning?

5.  What are "true and primary premises"?

6.  What is the difference between Demonstrative, Dialectical and Contentious Reasoning?

7.  What are the three uses of Dialectic?

8.  When shall we know that he possess the method completely?

9.  What in your reading do you not understand?

3.  Memory Work

The following information must be completely memorized.

1.  What is Reasoning?
Reasoning is an argument in which, with certain things being laid down, something other than these necessarily comes about through them.

2. What are the four Species of Reasonings?
The four species of reasonings are:  demonstrative, dialectical, contentious and false reasonings.

3.  What is Demonstrative Reasoning?

Demonstrative Reasoning is reasoning from true and primary premises.

4.  What are "true and primary premises"?
True and primary premises are premises that command or deserve belief on their own and not through anything else, as: "Every number is equal to itself."

5.  What is dialectical reasoning (or dialectic)?
Dialectical reasoning is reasoning from premises that are generally accepted by men.

6.  What is contentious reasoning?
Contentious reasoning is reasoning from premises that seem to be generally accepted, or seeming to do so.

7.  What are false reasonings?
False reasonings are reasonings made from false assumptions.

8.  What are the three suggested uses for dialectical reasoning?
Mental training, conversation and the study of the philosophical sciences.

9.  What are the three objectives for the study of Dialectic?
The three objectives of Dialectic are to know the kinds of statements and the subjects of arguments as well as the ways of storing them up.

4.  Lesson Exercises

Think carefully on the following questions and write out answers that might help you next year.

CREATING PHILOSOPHY FILES

Great thinkers normally don't come up with their ideas on the spot.  Most store up a treasury of questions, arguments, quotes and notes as they study for years and years.  Then, when the time comes to take on some question, they can go back to their files and find answers, arguments, examples and so on.

You need to begin your own philosophy files.  You will need to begin with four major categories:  (1) Ethics, (2) Logic, (3) Physics and (4) Theology.  Any questions, thoughts, quotes or notes about ethical questions, such as "Should a boy obey his parents or the law if they disagree?" go in your Ethics file.  Notes on logical questions (to be studied later in Philosophy) will go in your Logic file.  Notes on questions of nature and the physical world, such as "What causes lightning?" go in your Physics file.  Notes on questions about God, such as "Could God have had a beginning?" go in  your Theology file.  Once established, you should begin adding too these files anytime you read something or hear something that you believe is helpful in answering questions in these important areas.  You will enjoy going back through your files now and then, remembering things you had forgotten about, throwing away things you once thought were good but later know are dumb, and so on.  Best of all, when the time comes to write or answer a question, you will have a place to begin--a treasury out from which you can draw wonderful things.

There are a number of ways to do this.  One is simply setting up a file box with folders in it.  You can start small, but one day you may need a full-size filing cabinet hold all of your notes!  Another way is to start folders on your computer into which you save or cut-and-paste things you find over time.  A third way is to start a blog online which you use to organize your ideas and keep as a philosophical journal. You can also use notebooks for these subject areas and keep notes there.  The best solution is probably a combination of all of them, but start with a file box.

Assignment:  For this exercise, discuss with your parents how you will establish your own Philosophy Files and explain your solution in an e-mail to your instructor.

5.  Lesson Examination

Directions:  After completing all of your assignments above, complete the Lesson Examination.