History 20 - Activity Guide - Student Information Sheet: Dialectical Thinking Model

This information is to accompany Activity Eight.

Student Information Sheet: Dialectical Thinking Model

Many times there is more then one possible solution to a problem or an issue. People may not even agree on what the problem is. Life is complicated, and different people see things in different ways. But they still have to live together, and often they have to figure out how they can come to one conclusion even though they disagree. Dialectical thinking is a method people can use "to work things out".

You are doing dialectical thinking when you have an argument with yourself about something in your head. Without putting any fancy words to it when you argue with yourself you do something like this:

Independent learning: Becoming aware of your own thinking: What you are actually doing when you think this way: How an essay would look if you used the system of dialectical thinking to handle an issue:

Having an Argument with Yourself Dialectical Thinking A "Both Sides" Essay

You want to do something very badly. Dialectical thinking begins by understanding that most situations are complicated and often you want two opposite things at the same time. Paragraph 1:
This is an introduction explaining briefly to your reader what the essay is about.

So you imagine how wonderful it would be to do it in a certain way. Let's call that A. 1. Everyone has a point of view which may be right or wrong. Paragraph 2:
Here you explain the position you are going to take on an issue. I believe that ...

So you think of:
all the different reasons why you should do this thing;
how it would be good for you;
how much you deserve this thing because you have worked so hard; and,
how it would help others if you did it.
2. If we are not too proud, we had better check it out to see whether our point of view is any good. Paragraph 3:
This paragraph is the "same-side" argument which outlines logically all the reasons supporting the position you are taking.

Suddenly something else comes along that you could do at the same time with the same money. Then it hits you that maybe A wouldn't be such a good idea after all. You become very interested in this new thing; let's call it B. 3. Dialectical thinking means that we cannot ignore or pretend that other ways of doing things do not exist because they do and they might be better than what we first thought. Paragraph 4:
This is the "other-side" position on the issue you are discussing in this essay.

So now you think of:
all the different reasons why you should do B;
how it also would be good for you;
how much you deserve B too because you have worked so hard; and,
how it would help others if you did it.
4. The second view like the first view also needs to be checked out to see if it is any good. Paragraph 5:
Here you outline logically all the reasons supporting that position.
(To be fair it is important that you give all the reasons there are and write this side as if you believe it.)

Now you have to make a choice. What are you going to do? This is where you need to do some hard thinking (scheming?):
is there some way I can arrange to do both?
do I really want to do A? or B?
do I know for sure that one is as good as the other?
what will happen if I do one and not the other?
what is the best choice I can make under these circumstances?
5. This is the crunch part of the dialectic where you compare each view and its supporting reasons and try to decide which is better. You can do this by asking yourself the kind of questions in the left column Paragraph 6:
This is your concluding paragraph in which you examine both sets of reasons and then explain why you have come to the conclusion(s) that you did come to.

Finally you might end up saying something like this: A looks really great, and I wish I could do it, but I think I'm going to go with B or vice versa. 6. Finally you make up your mind. If you're lucky maybe you can figure out how to get both things at the same time, or maybe you can find a way to get as much as possible while giving up as little as possible. In the conclusion of a "both-sides" essay you can do three basic things:

you can conclude that your position is basically correct;
you can conclude that the other side is better and change your mind; or
you can conclude that some combination of both sides actually does a better job of explaining things than either of the two you began with.

On the next page is a concept map of the dialectical thinking process. This is another way of looking at the way we go about deciding what to think when things contradict each other.

Independent learning: Becoming aware of your own thinking:	What you are actually doing when you think this way:	How an essay would look if you used the system of dialectical thinking to handle an issue:
Having an Argument with Yourself	Dialectical Thinking	A "Both Sides" Essay
You want to do something very badly.	Dialectical thinking begins by understanding that most situations are complicated and often you want two opposite things at the same time.	Paragraph 1: This is an introduction explaining briefly to your reader what the essay is about.
So you imagine how wonderful it would be to do it in a certain way. Let's call that A.	1. Everyone has a point of view which may be right or wrong.	Paragraph 2: Here you explain the position you are going to take on an issue. I believe that ...
So you think of: all the different reasons why you should do this thing; how it would be good for you; how much you deserve this thing because you have worked so hard; and, how it would help others if you did it.	2. If we are not too proud, we had better check it out to see whether our point of view is any good.	Paragraph 3: This paragraph is the "same-side" argument which outlines logically all the reasons supporting the position you are taking.
Suddenly something else comes along that you could do at the same time with the same money. Then it hits you that maybe A wouldn't be such a good idea after all. You become very interested in this new thing; let's call it B.	3. Dialectical thinking means that we cannot ignore or pretend that other ways of doing things do not exist because they do and they might be better than what we first thought.	Paragraph 4: This is the "other-side" position on the issue you are discussing in this essay.
So now you think of: all the different reasons why you should do B; how it also would be good for you; how much you deserve B too because you have worked so hard; and, how it would help others if you did it.	4. The second view like the first view also needs to be checked out to see if it is any good.	Paragraph 5: Here you outline logically all the reasons supporting that position. (To be fair it is important that you give all the reasons there are and write this side as if you believe it.)
Now you have to make a choice. What are you going to do? This is where you need to do some hard thinking (scheming?): is there some way I can arrange to do both? do I really want to do A? or B? do I know for sure that one is as good as the other? what will happen if I do one and not the other? what is the best choice I can make under these circumstances?	5. This is the crunch part of the dialectic where you compare each view and its supporting reasons and try to decide which is better. You can do this by asking yourself the kind of questions in the left column	Paragraph 6: This is your concluding paragraph in which you examine both sets of reasons and then explain why you have come to the conclusion(s) that you did come to.
Finally you might end up saying something like this: A looks really great, and I wish I could do it, but I think I'm going to go with B or vice versa.	6. Finally you make up your mind. If you're lucky maybe you can figure out how to get both things at the same time, or maybe you can find a way to get as much as possible while giving up as little as possible.	In the conclusion of a "both-sides" essay you can do three basic things: you can conclude that your position is basically correct; you can conclude that the other side is better and change your mind; or you can conclude that some combination of both sides actually does a better job of explaining things than either of the two you began with.