ABSTRACT
There have been many different interpretations of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's dialectic, and more keep appearing. One source of the differences is the fact that Hegel treats dialectic somewhat differently in different publications. Hegel's dialectic comes out of Greek philosophy, but its source is Socrates, not Aristotle. For Socrates and Plato, dialectic meant dialogue, a discussion by supporters of two opposite views. Dialectic was a process. Similarly, for Hegel dialectic is a process of interaction between two opposites in society, such as the task-oriented leader and the person-oriented leader. Hegel's focus had shifted from Greek society to current society, and his concern had shifted to political mediation of differences and political maintenance of the economy. The recognition that there are two dialectics helps explain some of the differences between Hegel interpreters. Incidentally, the movement of the objective dialectic into the future does not necessarily represent progress for Hegel.
