Basic law of philosophy: interpretation and meaning

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

Does it sometimes seem to you that life is a continuous series of some problems that need to be solved, diluted with permanent confusion and fuss? After work, you go online or turn on the TV to relax and not think about anything.

We propose a slight change of tactics. Let's talk about what they probably taught you at the university, and you just could hear somewhere out of the corner of your ear. Yes, we are not talking about a light movie or weak literature. We will talk about the basic concepts and laws of philosophy. We hope this article gives you some food for thought - there are some things to really think about.

Some simple definitions

You must have learned about this science at school. We remember that something was said there about the frailty of being or the self-determination of consciousness - some abstruse things that, probably, will not be needed in life (so it seemed to us). But now is the time for thinking people. For now, let's start with simple basic concepts and slowly go deep into the subject and analyze the 3 basic laws of philosophy.

Philosophy (Greek "love of wisdom") is the study of knowledge or "thinking about thinking". In other words, the discipline concerned with questions about how one should live, what things are and what their essence is, what is considered true knowledge, what are the correct principles of reasoning.

In very simple terms, this term means the pursuit of knowledge for our own sake and covers such areas of human activity as art, science and religion.

From the outside, it often seemed to ordinary people that philosophy itself refers to unproductive and frivolous thinking. But look more broadly - for many centuries, the followers of this science have made an invaluable contribution to the development of mathematics, literature, politics and sociology through important and original ideas.

Industry structure

Philosophy is such a broad and multifaceted area that it does not obey a single logical classification. It is divided into eastern and western, each of which was formed separately, and due to radical differences in cultures, customs, way of life and mentality, they represent opposite directions and carry completely different ideas about humanity, individuality and nature.

It is also very important to divide the discipline into separate doctrines, which can be diametrically different or interconnected. For example, metaphysics is questions about the existence of reality; epistemology - the study of our knowledge; ethics - the section on how people should act, which isvalue; aesthetics - the problems and meaning of art and beauty. In addition, there is a philosophy of logic and a political philosophy.

It is quite expected the division of science and the historical period: ancient, medieval and modern.

One of the most extensive classifications - according to schools, each of which can interpret the goals of a person in different ways, explain the existence of reality or even its absence, the forms of organization of society and the path of development of civilization. Vivid examples are pluralism, skepticism, sophism, cynicism, hedonism, stoicism, scholasticism, and more.

And, of course, all the great followers of this science left a contribution that we are studying to this day, and their names are known to you from school: Aristotle, Avicenna, Cicero, Plato, Socrates, Kant, Leibniz, Bacon, Pascal, Marx, Sartre. What is remarkable is that each of the above and other figures are also known in completely different fields such as mathematics, physics, literature, economics or politics. This fact indicates the inextricable link between philosophy and science.

Now do you understand the importance and seriousness of the subject? Let's move on.

Basic Law of Philosophy

Given the vastness of the entire area, it is difficult to single out a separate aspect, especially since this principle contradicts the system itself, which considers reality from different angles and different approaches. But the followers of this science, in any case, need some kind of center, a kind of fulcrum, from which each of themcan be repelled in a direction close to him.

As such a basic law of philosophy, the law of the struggle of opposites and unity is singled out, the name of which already reflects duality and complexity. It is a doctrine of the development of nature, society and thinking. The main postulate says that all objects, events and processes are characterized by internal contradictions, which are the source and force of growth and development. Thus, the movement of reality is created not due to external factors, but due to causes that arise and are in all objects and in ourselves.

The law emphasizes the possibilities of knowing the world and the Universe through an approach to understanding any integral system as dismembered and complex, elements and trends that are incompatible with each other (at the same time they are in a state of struggle, but form a unity). Such an interpretation explains that it is in the growth of contradictions that the very fact of development lies, which at a certain stage destroys the old and creates a new one.

Three basic laws of philosophy

We talked about a central postulate that can help you form an understanding of science itself and its principles. He is the first law. Now we will talk about more advanced concepts.

The law of the transition of quantitative changes into qualitative ones is a kind of accumulation system. It says that small constant quantitative changes step by step form a transition to a new quality by the type of jump. At this moment, the former state is eliminated, and a new one is created depending on the nature of things andconditions for their development. If such a jump occurs, then all quantitative changes up to this stage are canceled and the process starts anew, up to the formation of a new quality.

The law of denial of denial is the direction of development based on the denial of previous experience, but with the preservation of the positive content of the past stages. Thus, this postulate is a manifesto of ascending progress, which destroys the old and creates the new, while the chain of growth has no end. Such continuous denial is typical for all processes and phenomena observed in nature, society and thinking.

Development Aspect

It is he who unites all three postulates described above. That is, if you look closely, you will see that they are all separate parts of a single process or system. Therefore, they are also called the basic laws of development in philosophy.

So, the first setting says about the source, the impulse of the force that is inside the system and is responsible for movement and growth. The second is about the process of transition from the previous level to the next, about how exactly it happens. The third is about the direction of this process, how the whole system is able to move progressively upwards, denying the excess.

Dialectical principle

In confirmation of the vastness of not only the objects and processes studied by philosophy, but even approaches to defining it itself, we will tell you about one more aspect that will help to consider this science from the other side.

Dialectics is a doctrine that covers the processesoccurring in the Universe and in a diverse reality, accommodating certain postulates to which this entire system is subject. This theory consists of ideological and material levels. And if the first speaks for itself: general ideas and concepts, then the second is also divided into two groups of laws.

The first group - these are the very postulates that are the basic laws of dialectics in philosophy, summarized by us above. They are responsible for describing the development mechanism and the transition process. But the second group deciphers those settings that explain to us the presence of opposites in each object or phenomenon, the essence of their interaction in reality.

Place of logic

We owe this term and definition to Aristotle. It was he who first formed this concept, which provides the basis for proof and demonstration using natural language. Mathematics was widespread in Ancient Greece, it was at the forefront of all scientific theory and used arithmetic and geometric means to prove theories. Aristotle, on the other hand, created a whole theory of fundamental principles that helped to apply formal analysis to real human language. So philosophy and science set foot on a common path of knowledge of the world.

The great scientist has formed certain rules that govern the art of logic. They are also referred to as the basic laws of philosophy, which do not contradict those described above and form a common system of understanding.

Three principles of thinking according to Aristotle

Herenorms are described that explain how thought arises in general, how this process should take place and what conditions are necessary for this. These are fundamental postulates that are necessary for clear and sound thinking.

So, the basic laws of logic in philosophy are as follows:

The law of identity or identity - affirms the existence of absolute truth. Otherwise: if you sometimes have the feeling that you perceive things differently, even about the same objects you can speak differently at different times. This law puts forward the requirement that it is impossible to perceive identical thoughts for different ones, and different ones for identical ones. This principle excludes the substitution of concepts in the context and the wrong, arbitrary interpretation.
The law of non-contradiction - in the original translation it sounds like: "Nothing can exist and not exist at the same time, no statement is both true and false at the moment."
Law of the excluded middle - something either exists or does not exist; every statement is either true or false. This postulate works only in the two-valued logic of Aristotle, but the theory uses abstractions, and the many elements of the reality system and examples are endless.

Why should I know all this?

We talked briefly about the basic laws of philosophy, but you still do not understand what to do with all this?

Most importantly, this teaching will expand your world and perception of reality. A discipline that seems irrelevant and outdated can helpchange the angle of view on many of the material and spiritual values that permeate our life and reality. You have the opportunity to understand the topic a little and, perhaps, choose for yourself any particular direction of philosophy and go deep, because each branch of this science, regardless of the principle of classification, is so expanded and closely interconnected with others that many great thinkers of a lifetime was not enough to comprehend this science perfectly. Although even the concept itself is also rejected by some areas of this discipline.

The Importance of Philosophy in the Modern World

We will not deny that a huge contribution to this science was made long before us. In fact, it is formed as its own system and is available to us only for study. But not everything is so simple.

Not only that the basic laws of philosophy are still applicable everywhere. Innovative followers use this science and its postulates for the practical implementation of the moral benefits that are necessary in our material world, solve certain social problems. The main principle of modern philosophy is to bridge the gap between analysis and practice, apply the wisdom accumulated by the greatest minds of mankind, identify urgent moral problems and find ways to solve them.