History

• Synthesis became a philosophical term with the work of the German, Hegel, during the 1800s. He developed dialectics where a thesis, or a conclusion, is juxtaposed to its opposing idea, the anti-thesis. When the thesis and the anti-thesis are considered in conjunction with each other, Hegel expected that a new conclusion would emerge which would contain elements of both. He called this new understanding the synthesis. So, in philosophy, a synthesis solves the conflict between two opposing ideas which are "put together" to form a new idea.
  
  

Significance

• Synthesis is also a literary term. In a book of fiction, the story arrives at the synthesis when all of the characters are accounted for by the end of the book. Without synthesis, the circumstances of some of the characters that the author included are unresolved. If you don't know what happens to each character at the end of the book, the book does not exhibit literary synthesis.
  
  

Types

• Modern music supplies another understanding of synthesis. Using mixers and digital tools, musicians can combine and manipulate sounds from all kinds of different sources and instruments. There is even an instrument called a musical synthesizer to "put together" sounds in new electronic ways.
  
  

Identification

• In chemistry, synthesis is when chemicals react together to produce more complex compounds. In biology, the most familiar synthesis, photosynthesis, happens in plants. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants combine carbon dioxide and water to produce sugars. It also produces oxygen which is released back into the atmosphere.
  
  

Expert Insight

• Educators also speak of synthesis as a cognitive skill. Students who can produce syntheses are able to connect information from several different sources to formulate a new pattern or idea. Synthesis is one of the highest levels of thinking according to Bloom's taxonomy of cognition. This means that teachers want to motivate their students to create syntheses. When they do, it proves that the students have learned the material well enough to be creative and innovative on their own.