Does anyone else get annoyed when (often philosophical) words are misused in common speach? Examples: Some anti-consumerist or anti-capitalists say “Materialism is bad,” which is annoying as a dialectical materialist. Materialism is the philosophy of putting matter over mind when studying the world, not liking fancy things. People frequently complain about “cynicism” meaning self-interest, cold-heartedness, or unreasonable skepticism. In reality it’s an ancient philosophy of living naturally and virtuously, rejecting social norms and ideals. I legit heard someone saying Stoicism means seriousness as in taking a sport seriously. It’s a philosophy of living virtuously and avoiding unnecessary psychological pain. These days people only know “op/ps” as opposition not operatives or operations. Finally, I know someone who thinks “dialectics” pretty much just means talking.
(not sure if this is the right comm, but it’s a rant)
Oh, yeah! I forgot to mention this, but this is close® to what dialectic is prior to Hegel. There are some disciplines/contexts where the term ‘dialectic’ is still used to describe a verbal process between human interlocutors, like dialectical methods in therapy or education. It’s closely related to the Socratic notion of elenchus.
Your friend probably just has closer or more recent contact with one of those traditions than he does with Marxism or Hegel.