Analytical or arithmomorphic concepts are those which, like numbers, are discretely distinct, having no overlap with their ‘other.’ Dialectical concepts are not discretely distinct, but have a penumbra of overlap with their other. In Georgescu-Roegen‘s definition, dialectical concepts only partially overlap. Land is not sea and sea is not land. But a tidal salt marsh belongs to both. A dollar bill is money, a shirt is not money, but a credit card is in some ways money and in some ways not. In order to use logic and the law of contradiction to build a theoretical science, economists have favored the analytical concept and tried to exorcise dialectical overlap. But well-defined, self-identical, analytical concepts cannot capture evolutionary change. Nothing can evolve into its other if it at no stage overlaps with its other. Without admitting dialectical concepts, and a certain amount of contradiction, we cannot deal with change. (my emphasis!)
Daly, H.E. and Cobb, J.B., Jr., 1989. For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future. Beacon Press, Boston, MA.