Abstract

In the Topics’ first book Aristotle undertakes the search for a method that allows him to reason on any problem: the dialectic. It is characterized by its reasonings, that part from the commendable, and that differ from the demonstrative reasonings, that part from the truthful and primordial things. This difference can give rise to the consideration that dialectic has a secondary character, without mayor value for science or philosophy. Nevertheless, it is possible to ask about the role that it plays in the scientific as well as in the philosophical knowledge. To resolve this question this work is divided in two parts: in the first place, the exposition of the dialectic’s nature as it is described by Aristotle in the Topics; in second place, the consideration about its utility and importance.