This chapter addresses the complex and multifaceted task of defining dialectics. It distinguishes the dialectical mode of thought from the metaphysical, which conceives of objects as fixed, isolated, and unchanging. In contrast, dialectics foregrounds internal contradiction as the driving force of change and development. The chapter engages critically with key debates surrounding the ontological, epistemological, and methodological dimensions of dialectics, exploring its diverse articulations across various intellectual traditions. It posits that dialectics has undergone continuous transformation across different historical periods, evolving in response to changing philosophical, scientific and social challenges. By situating dialectics within the broader history of human thought, the chapter emphasises that it has emerged, taken shape and been reconfigured over time.