Dialectics
The process of developing ideas through dialogue and comparison. The term "dialectics" was first used to refer to Plato's philosophical works, which are written as dialogues between Socrates and other Ancient Greek citizens. In Hegel's philosophy, this term acquired a new, modern meaning. Hegel argued that concepts and ideas do not exist in isolation. Rather, they are developed in dynamic (or "dialectical") relationships with opposite concepts. To pick a simple example, Hegel might suggest that "white" is an impossible concept unless you have a concept of "black." Consequently, changes in the concept of "white" necessarily bring about changes in the concept of "black." For instance, if "white" comes to stand for purity and clarity, then "black" might come to stand for evil and confusion. In his works, Hegel often tried to analyze the dialectical process that developed our ideas over the course of history. Kierkegaard uses this term to describe relationships between some ideas in
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich
An influential nineteenth-century German philosopher. Hegel was born in 1770 and died in 1831. His major works include the
Pseudonym: Anti-Climacus
Literally, a "false name" under which an author publishes a work—a pen name. Kierkegaard published many of his major works under pseudonyms. His pseudonyms are often more than just pen names. He often gives them distinct personalities that color the works they narrate. Some critics have interpreted this use of pseudonyms as an effort to build distance between Kierkegaard and the reader, so that the reader has more freedom to consider the merits of the argument without being distracted or influenced by the reputation of the author.
It would not have been difficult, however, for Kierkegaard's original readers to guess who the author was.
Science
Kierkegaard works with a definition of this term that is broader than our modern usage. In philosophical circles in Kierkegaard's time, "science" could be used to refer to any disciplined field of study, not just to biology, physics, or the other fields we call science today. (Philosophy, for instance, could be referred to as a "science.") Generally, when Kierkegaard refers to "science," "scholarship," or "speculative" or "systematic" thinking, he is referring to efforts to use some disciplined methodology to understand the world of objects and facts.