Dialectics (from the Greek dialégesthai, “to converse,” via the substantive dialektikḗ [téchnē]; Latin [ars] dialectica) from Aristotle meant the method of rational argument, including merely probably arguments, in which latter point it differed from logic, which required proof. Still, dialectics can be regarded as a form of applied logic for the purposes of argumentation theory. It formed part of the so-called trivium within the medieval university curricul…