In classical philosophy, dialectic (Greek: διαλεκτική) is controversy: the exchange of arguments and counter-arguments respectively advocating propositions (theses) and counter-propositions (antitheses). Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly In Logic and Philosophy, proposition refers to either (a the content or Meaning of a meaningful Declarative sentence A dissertation (also called thesis or disquisition) is a document that presents the author's Research and findings and is submitted in support of candidature Antithesis ( Greek for "setting opposite" from against + position) is a counter- Propositions and denotes a direct Contrast The outcome of the exercise might not simply be the refutation of one of the relevant points of view, but a synthesis or combination of the opposing assertions, or at least a qualitative transformation in the direction of the dialogue. ^[1][2]

In Medieval Europe, dialectics (or logic) was one of the three original liberal arts collectively known as the trivium (the other members are rhetoric and grammar). The term liberal arts refers to a particular type of educational Curriculum broadly defined as a Classical education. In medieval universities, the trivium comprised the three subjects taught first Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice Grammar is the field of Linguistics that covers the Rules governing the use of any given natural language. ^[3][4][5][6] In ancient and medieval times both rhetoric and dialectic were understood to aim at being persuasive (through dialogue). "Ancient" redirects here For other uses see Ancient_(disambiguation. Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice ^[7][8][6]

The aim of the dialectical method, often known as dialectic or dialectics, is to try to resolve the disagreement through rational discussion,^[9][10] and ultimately, the search for truth. A controversy or dispute is a commencement of a conflict between statements of accepted fact and a new or unaccepted proposal that disagrees with argues against Rationality as a term is related to the idea of Reason, a word which following Webster's may be derived as much from older terms referring to One way to proceed — the Socratic method — is to show that a given hypothesis (with other admissions) leads to a contradiction; thus, forcing the withdrawal of the hypothesis as a candidate for truth (see also reductio ad absurdum). The Socratic Method (or Method of Elenchus or Socratic Debate) named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of A hypothesis (from Greek) consists either of a suggested explanation for a phenomenon (an event that is observable or of a reasoned proposal suggesting a possible In Classical logic, a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility between two or more Propositions It occurs when the propositions taken together yield The meaning of the word truth extends from Honesty, Good faith, and Sincerity in general to agreement with Fact or Reality Reductio ad absurdum ( Latin for "reduction to the absurd" also known as an apagogical argument, reductio ad impossibile Another way of trying to resolve a disagreement is by denying some presupposition of both the contending thesis and antithesis; thereby moving to a third (syn)thesis or "sublation". In the linguistic branch of Pragmatics, a presupposition is an implicit assumption about the world or background belief relating to an utterance whose truth is taken for granted in Sublation is an English term used to translate Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 's German term Aufhebung. However, the rejection of the participant's presuppositions can be resisted, which might generate a second order controversy. ^[11]

Introduction

Dialectics are based around three concepts:

• 1: Everything is made out of opposing forces/opposing sides.
• 2: Gradual changes lead to turning points, where one force overcomes the other.
• 3: Change moves in spirals not circles. (Sometimes referred to as "negation of the negation")

Within this broad qualification, dialectics have a rich and varied history. It has been stated that the history of dialectic is identical to the extensive history of philosophy. ^[12]. The basic idea perhaps is already present in Heraclitus of Ephesus, who held that all is in constant change, as a result of inner strife and opposition ^[13][14][15] Only fragments of his works and commentary remain, however. Heraclitus of Ephesus ( Ancient Greek: &mdash grc-Latn ''Hērákleitos ho Ephésios'' English Heraclitus the Ephesian) (ca Ephesus ( Hittite Apasa; Ancient Greek; Turkish Efes) was a city of ancient Anatolia. Briefly, the term "dialectic" owes much of its prestige to its role in the philosophy of Socrates and Plato, where it figures as the logical method of philosophy, which these thinkers apply by developing an elenchus, that is cross-examination for the purpose of refutation. SOCRATES is the European Community action programme in the field of Education. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece The Socratic Method (or Method of Elenchus or Socratic Debate) named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of According to Aristotle, ^[16] it was Zeno of Elea who 'invented' dialectic. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Zeno of Elea (ˈziːnoʊ əv ˈɛliə Greek: Ζήνων ὁ Ἐλεάτης (ca

Advancements made by Hegel and Marxism

The concept was given new life by Hegel, whose dialectically dynamic model of nature and of history made it, as it were, a fundamental aspect of the nature of reality (instead of regarding the contradictions into which dialectics leads as a sign of the sterility of the dialectical method, as Kant tended to do in his Critique of Pure Reason^[17][18]). Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Reality, in everyday usage means "the state of things as they actually exist" Immanuel Kant (ɪmanuəl kant 22 April 1724 12 February 1804 was an 18th-century German Philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg The Critique of Pure Reason (Kritik der reinen Vernunft by Immanuel Kant, first published in 1781, second edition 1787, is one In the mid-19th century, the concept of "dialectic" was appropriated by Marx (see, for example, Das Kapital, published in 1867) and Engels and retooled in a non-idealist manner, becoming a crucial notion in their philosophy of dialectical materialism. Year 1867 ( MDCCCLXVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Friedrich Engels (28 November 1820 – 5 August 1895 was a German social scientist and philosopher, who Dialectical materialism, according to many followers of Karl Marx 's thinking is the philosophical basis of Marxism. Thus this concept has played a prominent role on the world stage and in world history. Prehistory See also Prehistory Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens In contemporary polemics, "dialectics" may also refer to an understanding of how we can or should perceive the world (epistemology); an assertion that the nature of the world outside one's perception is interconnected, contradictory, and dynamic (ontology); or it can refer to a method of presentation of ideas and/or conclusions (discourse). Polemics (pəˈlɛmɪks/ /poʊ- is the practice of disputing or controverting religious, philosophical, or political matters Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge In Philosophy, ontology (from the Greek, genitive: of being (part Discourse (L discursus, "running to and from" means either "written or spoken communication or debate" or "a formal discussion According to Hegel, "Dialectic" is the method by which human history unfolds; that is to say, history progresses as a dialectical process.

Variants of dialectics

Hindu dialectic

See also: Hindu philosophy

Indian philosophy, for the most part subsumed within the Indian religions, has an ancient tradition of dialectic polemics. Hindu philosophy is divided into six Sanskrit ''{{IAST|āstika}}'') schools of thought or darshanas (literally "views" Sankhya Indian religions, also called Dharmic religions, are the related religious traditions that originated in the Indian subcontinent, namely Hinduism, The two complements, "purusha" (the active cause) and the "prakriti" (the passive nature) brings everything into existence. In Hinduism, Purusha ( Sanskrit puruṣa पुरुष "man Cosmic Man " in Sutra literature also called puṃs Prakrti or Prakriti (from Sanskrit language प्रकृ्रति prakṛti is according to Vedanta philosophy the basic matter of which the They follow the "rta", the Dharma (Universal Law of Nature). The Sanskrit term ( Devanāgarī: धर्म Pali transliteration dhamma) is an Indian spiritual and religious

In Hinduism, certain dialectical elements can be found in the embryo, such as the idea of the three phases of creation (Brahma), maintenance of order (Vishnu) and destruction or disorder (Shiva). Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Brahma is the Hindu god ( deva) of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific Shiva:(pronunciation; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, lit "Auspicious one" One of the Trimurtis Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva Hindu dialectic is discussed by Hegel, Engels, and Ian Stewart, who has written on Chaos Theory. Ian Nicholas Stewart (born 1945) is a professor of Mathematics at University of Warwick, England and a widely known popular-science and science-fiction In Mathematics, chaos theory describes the behavior of certain dynamical systems – that is systems whose state evolves with time – that may exhibit dynamics that Stewart establishes that the relationship between the gods Shiva and Vishnu is not the antagonism between good and evil, but the dynamic and developmental relationship of harmony and discord.

The very earliest religious writings in ancient India, the Vedas, which date from around 1500 BC, in a formal sense, are hymns to the gods, but as Hegel also points out, Eastern religions are very philosophical in character. This article is about the history of South Asia prior to the Partition of British India in 1947 "Veda" redirects here For other uses see Veda (disambiguation. The gods have less of a personal character and are more akin to general concepts and symbols. We find these elements of dialectics in Hinduism as Engels has explained [citation needed]. The deities of the Vedas may be fruitfully engaged as personifications and manifestations of aspects of the ultimate truth and reality, Dharma.

Jain dialectic

Further information: Jain philosophy, Anekantavada, and Syadvada

Anekantavada and Syadvada are the sophisticated dialectic traditions developed by the Jains to arrive at truth. Jain philosophy ( Sanskrit: Jain darsana; sa जैन दर्शन deals extensively with the problems of Metaphysics, Reality, Cosmology Anekāntavāda (Devanagari sa [[wiktअनेकान्तवाद अनेकान्तवाद]] is one of the most important and basic doctrines of Jainism. Syādvāda ( Devanagari: स्यादवाद is the Doctrine of Postulation of Jainism. Anekāntavāda (Devanagari sa [[wiktअनेकान्तवाद अनेकान्तवाद]] is one of the most important and basic doctrines of Jainism. Syādvāda ( Devanagari: स्यादवाद is the Doctrine of Postulation of Jainism. As per Jainism, the truth or the reality is perceived differently from different points of view, and that no single point of view is the complete truth. Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. ^{[19] [20]} Jain doctrine of Anekantavada states that, an object has infinite modes of existence and qualities and, as such, they cannot be completely perceived in all its aspects and manifestations, due to inherent limitations of the humans. Anekāntavāda (Devanagari sa [[wiktअनेकान्तवाद अनेकान्तवाद]] is one of the most important and basic doctrines of Jainism. Only the Kevalins - the omniscient beings - can comprehend the object in all its aspects and manifestations, and that all others are capable of knowing only a part of it. Kevala Jñāna ( Sanskrit: केवलज्ञान)or Kevala Ṇāṇa (Prakrit: केवल णाण in Jainism, (also known as "absolute knowledge" Consequently, no one view can claim to represent the absolute truth. According to Jains, the ultimate principle should always be logical and no principle can be devoid of logic or reason. ^[21] Thus one finds in the Jain texts, deliberative exhortations on any subject in all its facts, may they be constructive or obstructive, inferential or analytical, enlightening or destructive. ^[22]

Syādvāda is the theory of conditioned predication which provides an expression to anekānta by recommending that epithet Syād be attached to every expression. Syādvāda ( Devanagari: स्यादवाद is the Doctrine of Postulation of Jainism. ^[23] Syādvāda is not only an extension of Anekānta ontology, but a separate system of logic capable of standing on its own force. In Philosophy, ontology (from the Greek, genitive: of being (part The Sanskrit etymological root of the term Syād is "perhaps" or "maybe", but in context of syādvāda, it means "in some ways" or "from a perspective. " As reality is complex, no single proposition can express the nature of reality fully. Thus the term "syāt" should be prefixed before each proposition giving it a conditional point of view and thus removing any dogmatism in the statement. ^[24] Since it ensures that each statement is expressed from seven different conditional and relative view points or propositions, it is know as theory of conditioned predication. These seven propositions also known as saptabhangi are:^[25]

1. syād-asti – "in some ways it is"
2. syād-nāsti - "in some ways it is not"
3. syād-asti-nāsti - "in some ways it is and it is not"
4. syād-asti-avaktavyaḥ - "in some ways it is and it is indescribable"
5. syād-nāsti-avaktavyaḥ - "in some ways it is not and it is indescribable"
6. syād-asti-nāsti-avaktavyaḥ - "in some ways it is, it is not and it is indescribable"
7. syād-avaktavyaḥ - "in some ways it is indescribable"

Socratic dialectic

See also: Socratic method

In Plato's dialogues and other Socratic dialogues, Socrates attempts to examine someone's beliefs, at times even first principles or premises by which we all reason and argue. Syādvāda ( Devanagari: स्यादवाद is the Doctrine of Postulation of Jainism. The Socratic Method (or Method of Elenchus or Socratic Debate) named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Socratic dialogue ( Greek Σωκρατικός λόγος or Σωκρατικός διάλογος) is a genre of prose literary works developed in SOCRATES is the European Community action programme in the field of Education. First Principles is also the title of a work by Herbert Spencer. For other uses see Premise Premises are land and Buildings together considered as a Property. Socrates typically argues by cross-examining his interlocutor's claims and premises in order to draw out a contradiction or inconsistency among them. SOCRATES is the European Community action programme in the field of Education. In Classical logic, a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility between two or more Propositions It occurs when the propositions taken together yield According to Plato, the rational detection of error amounts to finding the proof of the antithesis ^[26]. However, important as this objective is, the principal aim of Socratic activity seems to be to improve the soul of his interlocutors, by freeing them from unrecognized errors.

For example, in the Euthyphro, Socrates asks Euthyphro to provide a definition of piety. Euthyphro is one of Plato 's early dialogues dated to after 399 BCE. A definition is a statement of the meaning of a Word or Phrase. Euthyphro replies that the pious is that which is loved by the gods. But, Socrates also has Euthyphro agreeing that the gods are quarrelsome and their quarrels, like human quarrels, concern objects of love or hatred. Therefore, Socrates reasons, at least one thing exists which certain gods love but other gods hate. Again, Euthyphro agrees. Socrates concludes that if Euthyphro's definition of piety is acceptable, then there must exist at least one thing which is both pious and impious (as it is both loved and hated by the gods) — which, Euthyphro admits, is absurd. Thus, Euthyphro is brought to a realization by this dialectical method that his definition of piety is not sufficiently elaborate, thus wrong.

Buddhist dialectic

See also: Buddhist philosophy

Buddhism has developed sophisticated and institutionalized traditions of dialectics. Buddhist philosophy deals extensively with problems in Metaphysics, phenomenology, Ethics, and Epistemology. Nalanda University is a sagely example. Nālandā is the name of an ancient University in Bihar, India. The historical development and clarification of Buddhist doctrine and polemics through dialectics and formal debate is documented. Trison Detsen was a champion of dialectic and debate. Trisong Detsän or Trisong Detsen ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན (Tibetan Wylie Khri-srong-lde-btsan; ipa ʈʂʰisoŋ tetsɛ̃; PRC The Buddhist doctrine was contested in a highly consistent and logical way in the 2nd century by Nagarjuna, whose rationalism became the basis for the development of one stream of Buddhist logic. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices The 2nd century is the period from 101 to 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Acharya Nāgārjuna ( Telugu: నాగార్జున (c 150 - 250 CE) was an Indian philosopher the founder of the Madhyamaka The logic of Buddhism was later developed by other notable thinkers such as Dignaga and Dharmakirti (between 500 and 700). Dignāga ( fl 5th century) was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian logic. Dharmakirti ( ca 7th century was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. Events By Place Europe Possible date for the Battle of Mons Badonicus: Romano-British and Celts defeat an Anglo-Saxon Events By Place North America The Mount Edziza volcanic complex erupts in northern British Columbia, Canada. Protracted dialectic is evident throughout the traditions of Madhyamaka, Yogacara and Tantric Buddhism. Madhyamaka ( Sanskrit: मध्यमक Madhyamaka,, Pinyin: Zhōngguānzōng; also known as Śunyavada) is a Buddhist Yogācāra (Sanskrit "yoga practice" "one whose practice is yoga" Chinese Yüjiazong "Yoga School" 瑜珈宗 is an influential school of Eastern Philosophy Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayana, Mantranaya, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and

Hegelian dialectic

Hegelian dialectic, usually presented in a threefold manner, was stated by Heinrich Moritz Chalybäus as comprising three dialectical stages of development: a thesis, giving rise to its reaction, an antithesis which contradicts or negates the thesis, and the tension between the two being resolved by means of a synthesis. Heinrich Moritz Chalybäus (1796-1862 was a German Philosopher best known for his Exegetical work on philosophy such as his characterisation of Hegel A dissertation (also called thesis or disquisition) is a document that presents the author's Research and findings and is submitted in support of candidature Antithesis ( Greek for "setting opposite" from against + position) is a counter- Propositions and denotes a direct Contrast This model is named after Hegel but he rarely used these terms himself. Rather it is due to Fichte. Johann Gottlieb Fichte ( May 19, 1762 – January 27, 1814) was a German philosopher Hegel himself preferred the term Aufhebung, variously translated into English as "sublation" or "overcoming," to conceive of the working of the dialectic. Sublation is an English term used to translate Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 's German term Aufhebung. Roughly, the term indicates preserving the useful portion of an idea, thing, society, etc. , while moving beyond its limitations. Jacques Derrida's preferred French translation of the term was se lever.

In the Logic, for instance, Hegel describes a dialectic of existence: first, existence must be posited as pure Being (Sein); but pure Being, upon examination, is found to be indistinguishable from Nothing (Nichts). Hegel 's work The Science of Logic outlined his vision of Logic, which is an ontology that incorporates the traditional Aristotelian Syllogism In common usage existence is the world of which we are aware through our senses but in Philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning and is often contrasted with When it is realized that what is coming into being is, at the same time, also returning to nothing (in life, for example, one's living is also a dying), both Being and Nothing are united as Becoming. ^[27]

As in the Socratic dialectic, Hegel claimed to proceed by making implicit contradictions explicit: each stage of the process is the product of contradictions inherent or implicit in the preceding stage. For Hegel, the whole of history is one tremendous dialectic, major stages of which chart a progression from self-alienation as slavery to self-unification and realization as the rational, constitutional state of free and equal citizens. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another '''''Rechtsstaat''''' is a concept in Continental European legal thinking originally borrowed from German Jurisprudence, which literally means a "state of law" The Hegelian dialectic cannot be mechanically applied for any chosen thesis. Critics argue that the selection of any antithesis, other than the logical negation of the thesis, is subjective. Then, if the logical negation is used as the antithesis, there is no rigorous way to derive a synthesis. In practice, when an antithesis is selected to suit the user's subjective purpose, the resulting "contradictions" are rhetorical, not logical, and the resulting synthesis not rigorously defensible against a multitude of other possible syntheses. Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice The problem with the Fichtean "thesis — antithesis — synthesis" model is that it implies that contradictions or negations come from outside of things. Hegel's point is that they are inherent in and internal to things. This conception of dialectics derives ultimately from Heraclitus. Heraclitus of Ephesus ( Ancient Greek: &mdash grc-Latn ''Hērákleitos ho Ephésios'' English Heraclitus the Ephesian) (ca

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel has outlined that the purpose of dialectics is "to study things in their own being and movement and thus to demonstrate the finitude of the partial categories of understanding" ^[28]

One important dialectical principle for Hegel is the transition from quantity to quality, which he terms the Measure: The measure is the qualitative quantum, the quantum is the existence of quantity. ^[29]

"The identity between quantity and quality, which is found in Measure, is at first only implicit, and not yet explicitly realised. In other words, these two categories, which unite in Measure, each claim an independent authority. On the one hand, the quantitative features of existence may be altered, without affecting its quality. On the other hand, this increase and diminution, immaterial though it be, has its limit, by exceeding which the quality suffers change. [. . . ] But if the quantity present in measure exceeds a certain limit, the quality corresponding to it is also put in abeyance. This however is not a negation of quality altogether, but only of this definite quality, the place of which is at once occupied by another. This process of measure, which appears alternately as a mere change in quantity, and then as a sudden revulsion of quantity into quality, may be envisaged under the figure of a nodal (knotted) line". ^[30]

As an example, Hegel mentions the states of aggregation of water: "Thus the temperature of water is, in the first place, a point of no consequence in respect of its liquidity: still with the increase or diminution of the temperature of the liquid water, there comes a point where this state of cohesion suffers a qualitative change, and the water is converted into steam or ice". ^[31]. As other examples Hegel mentions the reaching of a point where a single additional grain makes a heap of wheat; or where the bald-tail is produced, if we continue plucking out single hairs.

Another important principle for Hegel is the negation of the negation that he also terms Aufhebung (sublation): Something is only what it is in its relationship to another, but by the negation of the negation this something incorporates the other into itself. The dialectical movement involves two moments that negate each other, a somewhat and an another. As a result of the negation of the negation, "something becomes an other; this other is itself somewhat; therefore it likewise becomes an other, and so on ad infinitum". ^[32] Something in its passage into other only joins with itself, it is self-related. ^[33]. In becoming there are two moments^[34]: coming-to-be and ceasing-to-be: by sublation, i. e. negation of the negation, being passes over into nothing, it ceases to be, but something new shows up, is coming to be. What is sublated (aufgehoben) is on the one hand ceases to be and is put to an end, but on the other hand it is preserved and maintained. ^[35] In dialectics, a totality transform itself, it is self-related.

Marxist dialectics

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels believed Hegel was "standing on his head," and endeavoured to put him back on his feet, ridding Hegel's logic of its orientation towards philosophical idealism, and conceiving what is now known as materialist or Marxist dialectics. Friedrich Engels (28 November 1820 – 5 August 1895 was a German social scientist and philosopher, who In Western civilization, Idealism is the philosophy which maintains that the Ultimate nature of reality is ideal or based upon ideas values essences The so-called Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. This is what Marx had to say about the difference between Hegel's dialectics and his own:

"My dialectic method is not only different from the Hegelian, but is its direct opposite. To Hegel, the life-process of the human brain, i. e. , the process of thinking, which, under the name of 'the Idea,' he even transforms into an independent subject, is the demiurgos of the real world, and the real world is only the external, phenomenal form of 'the Idea. ' With me, on the contrary, the ideal is nothing else than the material world reflected by the human mind, and translated into forms of thought. " (Capital, Volume 1, Moscow, 1970, p. 29).

Nevertheless Marx:

"openly avowed [himself] the pupil of that mighty thinker" and even "coquetted with modes of expression peculiar to him. "

Marx wrote:

"The mystification which dialectic suffers in Hegel's hands, by no means prevents him from being the first to present its general form of working in a comprehensive and conscious manner. With him it is standing on its head. It must be turned right side up again, if you would discover the rational kernel within the mystical shell. "

In the work of Marx and Engels the dialectical approach to the study of history became intertwined with historical materialism, the school of thought exemplified by the works of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Historical materialism is the methodological approach to the study of society economics and history which was first articulated by Karl Marx ( 1818 - 1883 (Marx himself never referred to "historical materialism. ") A dialectical methodology came to be seen as the vital foundation for any Marxist politics, through the work of Karl Korsch, Georg Lukács and certain members of the Frankfurt School. Karl Korsch ( August 15, 1886 - October 21, 1961) was a German Marxist theorist György Lukács (pronounced in IPA dyɶrdyə ˈlukɑtʃ) ( April 13, 1885 – June 4, 1971) was a Hungarian The Frankfurt School is a school of neo-Marxist Critical theory, Social research, and Philosophy. Under Stalin, Marxist dialectics developed into what was called "diamat" (short for dialectical materialism). Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party Dialectical materialism, according to many followers of Karl Marx 's thinking is the philosophical basis of Marxism. Some Soviet academics, most notably Evald Ilyenkov, continued with unorthodox philosophical studies of the Marxist dialectic, as did a number of thinkers in the West. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. Evald Vassilievich Ilyenkov ( 18 February 1924 &mdash 21 March 1979) was a Marxist Author and renowned Soviet philosopher One of the best known North American dialectical philosophers is Bertell Ollman, Professor of Political Science at New York University. Bertell Ollman (born 1936 in Milwaukee) is a professor of politics at New York University. New York University ( NYU) is a private, Nonsectarian, Coeducational Research University in New York City.

Engels argued that all of nature is dialectical. In Anti-Dühring he contends that negation of negation is

"A very simple process which is taking place everywhere and every day, which any child can understand as soon as it is stripped of the veil of mystery in which it was enveloped by the old idealist philosophy. Herrn Eugen Dührings Umwälzung der Wissenschaft, commonly known as Anti-Dühring, is a book written in German by Friedrich Engels, published "

In Dialectics of Nature, Engels states,

"Probably the same gentlemen who up to now have decried the transformation of quantity into quality as mysticism and incomprehensible transcendentalism will now declare that it is indeed something quite self-evident, trivial, and commonplace, which they have long employed, and so they have been taught nothing new. Dialectics of Nature, by Friedrich Engels (1883 is an Unfinished work which applies Marxist ideas to science But to have formulated for the first time in its universally valid form a general law of development of nature, society, and thought, will always remain an act of historic importance. "

Marxists view dialectics as a framework for development in which contradiction plays the central role as the source of development. This is perhaps best exemplified in Marx's Capital, which outlines two of his central theories: that of the theory of surplus value and the materialist conception of history. In Capital, Marx had the following to say about his dialectical methodology:

"In its rational form it is a scandal and abomination to bourgeoisdom and its doctrinaire professors, because it includes in its comprehension an affirmative recognition of the existing state of things, at the same time also, the recognition of the negation of that state, of its inevitable breaking up; because it regards every historically developed social form as in fluid movement, and therefore takes into account its transient nature not less than its momentary existence; because it lets nothing impose upon it, and is in its essence critical and revolutionary. "

At the heart of Marxist dialectics is the idea of contradiction, with class struggle playing the central role in social and political life. Marx and subsequent Marxists also identify other historically important contradictions, such as those between mental and manual labor and town and country. Contradiction is the key to all other categories and principles of dialectical development: development by passage of quantitative change into qualitative ones, interruption of gradualness, leaps, negation of the initial moment of development and negation of this very negation, and repetition at a higher level of some of the features and aspects of the original state.

Dialectic Method and Dualism

Another way to understand dialectics is to view it as a method of thinking to overcome formal dualism and monistic reductionism. For example, formal dualism views them to be mutally exclusive entities, and monism finds either to be an epiphenomenon of the other. Dialectic thinking rejects both views. The dialectic method requires focus on both at the same time. It looks for transcendence or fusion of opposites, which (1) provides justification for rejecting both alternatives as false and/or (2) helps clarify a real but perhaps veiled integral relationship between opposites that are normally held to be kept apart and distinct. For example, the superposition principle of quantum physics can be explained using the dialectic method of thinking--likewise the example below from dialectical biology. Such examples showing the relationship of the dialectic method of thinking to the scientific method to a large part negates the criticism of Popper (see text below) that the two are mutually exclusive. The dialectic method also examines false alternatives presented by formal dualism (materialism vs idealism; rationalism vs empiricism; mind vs body, etc. ) and looks for ways to transcend the opposites and form synthesis. In the dialectic method, both have something in common, and understanding of the parts requires understanding their relationship with the whole system. The dialectic method thus views the time evolution of the whole as having a past.

Dialectical biology

In The Dialectical Biologist (Harvard U. P. 1985 ISBN 0-674-20281-3), Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin sketch a dialectical approach to biology. Richard "Dick" Levins is a mathematical ecologist, and political activist. Richard Charles "Dick" Lewontin (born March 29, 1929) is an American Evolutionary biologist They see "dialectics" more as a set of questions to ask about biological research, a weapon against dogmatism, than as a set of pre-determined answers. They focus on the (dialectical) relationship between the "whole" (or totality) and the "parts. " "Part makes whole, and whole makes part" (p. 272). That is, a biological system of some kind consists of a collection of heterogeneous parts. All of these contribute to the character of the whole, as in reductionist thinking. On the other hand, the whole has an existence independent of the parts and feeds back to affect and determine the nature of the parts. This back-and-forth (dialectic) of causation implies a dynamic process. For example, Darwinian evolution points to the competition of a variety of species, each with heterogeneous members, within a given environment. Darwinism is a term used for various different movements or concepts related to a greater or lesser extent to Charles Darwin 's work on Evolution. This leads to changing species and even to new species arising. A dialectical biologist fully accepts this picture then looks for ways in which the competing creatures (which serve as the internal conflicts in the environment) lead to changes. The changes would manifest in the creatures themselves, through the creatures embracing biological adaptations which provide them with advantages, and in the environment itself, as when the action of microbes encourages the erosion of rocks. Further, each species is part of the "environment" of all the others.

Criticism of dialectic

Many philosophers have offered critiques of dialectic, and it can even be said that hostility or receptivity to dialectics is one of the things that divides twentieth-century Anglo-American philosophy from the so-called "continental" tradition, a divide that only a few contemporary philosophers (among them, G.H. von Wright, Paul Ricoeur, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Richard Rorty) have ventured to bridge. Georg Henrik von Wright (pronounced roughly fon vrikt, IPA hɛnrik fɔn-vrikt ( June 14, 1916 &ndash June 16, 2003) was Paul Ricœur (born February 27, 1913 in Valence France; died May 20, 2005 in Chatenay Malabry, France was a Hans-Georg Gadamer (ˈgaːdamɐ February 11, 1900 &ndash March 13, 2002) was a German Philosopher of the continental Richard McKay Rorty (October 4 1931 - June 8 2007 was an American Philosopher.

It is generally thought that whilst there are a few notable exceptions, in general on the continent of Europe, dialectics has entered intellectual culture (or at least its counter-culture) as what might be called a legitimate part of thought and philosophy. In America and Britain, by contrast, the dialectic plays no discernible part in the intellectual culture, which instead tends toward positivism. Positivism is the Philosophy that the only authentic knowledge is knowledge that is based on actual sense experience A prime example of the European tradition is Sartre's Critique of Dialectical Reason, which is very different from the works of Popper, whose philosophy was for a time highly influential in the UK where he resided (see below). Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French Critique of Dialectical Reason, originally Critique de la raison dialectique ( 1960) was the last of Sartre 's major philosophical Sartre states:

Existentialism, like Marxism, addresses itself to experience in order to discover there concrete syntheses; it can conceive of these syntheses only within a moving, dialectical totalisation which is nothing else but history or -- from the strictly cultural point of view which we have adopted here --“philosophy-becoming-the world. ”

Karl Popper has attacked the dialectic repeatedly. Sir Karl Raimund Popper ( July 28 1902  &ndash September 17 1994) was an Austrian and British Philosopher and a professor In 1937 he wrote and delivered a paper entitled "What Is Dialectic?" in which he attacked the dialectical method for its willingness "to put up with contradictions" ^[36] Popper concluded the essay with these words: "The whole development of dialectic should be a warning against the dangers inherent in philosophical system-building. It should remind us that philosophy should not be made a basis for any sort of scientific system and that philosophers should be much more modest in their claims. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language One task which they can fulfill quite usefully is the study of the critical methods of science" (Ibid. Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena , p. 335).

In chapter 12 of volume 2 of The Open Society and Its Enemies (1944; 5th rev. The Open Society and Its Enemies, is an influential two-volume work by Karl Popper written during World War II. ed. , 1966) Popper unleashed a famous attack on Hegelian dialectics, in which he held Hegel's thought (unjustly, in the view of some philosophers, such as Walter Kaufmann,^[37]) was to some degree responsible for facilitating the rise of fascism in Europe by encouraging and justifying irrationalism. Walter Arnold Kaufmann ( July 1, 1921 Freiburg Germany - September 4, 1980 Princeton New Jersey) was a German-American Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge In section 17 of his 1961 "addenda" to The Open Society, entitled "Facts, Standards, and Truth: A Further Criticism of Relativism," Popper refused to moderate his criticism of the Hegelian dialectic, arguing that it "played a major role in the downfall of the liberal movement in Germany,. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The term Weimar Republic ( ˈvaɪmarɐ repuˈbliːk is used by historians to signify the democratic and Republican period of Germany from 1919 to 1933  .  . by contributing to historicism and to an identification of might and right, encouraged totalitarian modes of thought. Historicism refers to philosophical theories that include one or both of two claims that there is an organic succession of developments a notion also Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private  .  .  . [and] undermined and eventually lowered the traditional standards of intellectual responsibility and honesty" (The Open Society and Its Enemies, 5th rev. ed. , vol. 2 [Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966], p. 395).

See also

Notes

References

General information

Further reading

• MM Postan, "Function and Dialectic in Economic History," The Economic History Review, 1962, no. 3.

External links

• Bertell Ollman Writings on Dialectics: Dialectics.Net
• David Walls, Dialectical Social Science