ABSTRACT
As an adjective, “dialectical” means the ability to think in dialectical terms or to understand the dialectical method. Kierkegaard refers to this ability in many passages as a capacity for reflection that is exhibited to a high degree in contemplative geniuses such as Socrates.2 By contrast, he denounces certain other thinkers, like Hans Lassen Martensen, as not being dialectical enough.3 Dialectical ability is as important for philosophical as for religious understanding: “Dialectically the matter must be formulated this way: Christianity is the absolute; therein is found both the one and the other.”4 Dialectical skill is not only a reflective capacity, but also a psychological and existential one that allows the individual to relate to himself.
