Dialectics - what is it? Basic laws of dialectics

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

The concept of dialectics came to us from the Greek language, where this word denoted the ability to reason and debate, elevated to the rank of art. At present, dialectics refers to such an aspect of philosophy that deals with development, different aspects of this phenomenon.

Historical Background

Initially there was a dialectic in the form of discussions between Socrates and Plato. These dialogues have become so popular among the masses that the very phenomenon of communication in order to convince the interlocutor has become a philosophical method. Forms of thought within the framework of dialectics in different eras corresponded to their time. Philosophy in general, dialectics in particular, does not stand still - what was formed in ancient times is still developing, and this process is subject to the peculiarities, realities of our everyday life.

The principles of dialectics as a materialistic science are to determine the patterns by which phenomena and objects develop. The main function of such a philosophical scientific direction is methodological, necessary for understanding the world inphilosophy and science in general. The key principle should be called monism, that is, the declaration of the world, objects, phenomena that have a single materialistic basis. This approach considers matter as something eternal, imperishable, primary, but spirituality is relegated to the background. No less significant principle is the unity of being. Dialectics admits that through thinking a person can cognize the world, reflect the properties of the environment. These principles currently represent the foundation not only of dialectics, but of all materialistic philosophy.

Principles: continuing the theme

Dialectics calls to consider universal connections, recognizes the development of world phenomena as a whole. To understand the essence of the general connection of society, mental features, nature, it is necessary to study each of the constituent parts of the phenomenon separately. This is the main difference between the principles of dialectics and the metaphysical approach, for which the world is a set of phenomena that are not interconnected.

General development reflects the essence of the movement of matter, independent development, the formation of the new. With regard to the process of cognition, such a principle declares that phenomena, objects should be studied objectively, in motion and independent movement, in development, self-development. The philosopher must analyze what are the internal contradictions of the object under study, how they develop. This allows you to determine what are the sources of development, movement.

Dialectics of development recognizes that all objects under study are based on opposites, relies on the principle of contradictions, unity,transition from quantity to quality. Already in antiquity, thinkers, attracted by the idea of the cosmos, represented the world as a kind of calm whole, within which processes of formation, change, and development are continuous. The cosmos seemed to be both changeable and calm. At the general level, variability is well visualized by the transition of water into air, earth into water, fire into ether. In this form, dialectics was already formulated by Heraclitus, who proved that the world as a whole is calm, but filled with contradictions.

Development of ideas

Important postulates of dialectics, the main ideas of this section of philosophy were soon put forward by Zeno of Elea, who suggested talking about the inconsistency of movement, the opposition of forms of being. At that moment, the practice arose to oppose thoughts and feelings, plurality, unity. The development of this idea is observed in the research of atomists, of which Lucretius and Epicurus deserve special attention. They considered the appearance of an object from an atom as a kind of leap, and each object was the owner of a certain quality that was not characteristic of an atom.

Heraclitus, the Eleatics laid the foundation for the further development of dialectics. It was on the basis of their fabrications that the dialectic of the sophists was formed. Leaving natural philosophy, they analyzed the phenomenon of human thought, sought knowledge, using the method of discussion for this. However, over time, the adherents of such a school exaggerated the original idea, which became the basis for the formation of relativism and skepticism. However, from the point of view of the history of science, thisthe period was only a brief interval, an additional branch. The basic dialectic, which considered positive knowledge, was developed by Socrates and his followers. Socrates, studying the contradictions of life, urged to look for positive aspects in the thought inherent in man. He set himself the task of comprehending contradictions in such a way as to discover absolute truth. Eristics, disputes, answers, questions, colloquial theory - all this was introduced by Socrates and subjugated ancient philosophy as a whole.

Plato and Aristotle

The ideas of Socrates were actively developed by Plato. It was he who, delving into the essence of concepts, ideas, proposed to classify them as reality, some of its special, unique form. Plato urged to perceive dialectics not as a method of dividing a concept into separate aspects, not only as a way of searching for truth through questions and answers. In his interpretation, science was the knowledge of things that are relative and true. In order to achieve success, as Plato called for, contradictory aspects should be brought together, making up a whole common from them. Continuing the promotion of this idea, Plato framed his works with dialogues, thanks to which even now we have before our eyes impeccable examples of the dialectics of antiquity. The dialectic of knowledge through the works of Plato is also available to modern researchers in an idealistic interpretation. The author has repeatedly considered movement, rest, being, equality, difference, and interpreted being as separateness, contradicting itself, but coordinated. Any object is identical for itself, for other objects too, is at rest relativelyyourself, in motion relative to others.

The next stage in the development of the laws of dialectics is connected with the works of Aristotle. If Plato brought the theory to absolutism, then Aristotle combined it with the doctrine of ideological energy, potency, and applied it to specific material forms. This was the impetus for the further development of philosophical discipline, laid the foundation for understanding the real cosmos around humanity. Aristotle formulated four causes - formality, movement, purpose, matter; created a doctrine about them. Through his theories, Aristotle was able to express the unification of all causes in each object, so in the end they become inseparable and identical with the thing. According to Aristotle, things capable of movement must be generalized in their individual forms, which is the basis for the self-movement of reality. This phenomenon is called the prime mover, thinking independently, simultaneously belonging to objects, subjects. The thinker took into account the fluidity of forms, which made it possible to understand dialectics not as absolute knowledge, but as possible, to some extent probable.

Rules and concepts

The basic laws of dialectics determine development. The key is the regularity of the struggle of opposites, unity, as well as the transition from quality to quantity and back. It is necessary to mention the law of negation. Through all these laws, one can realize the source, the direction of movement, the mechanism of development. It is customary to call the dialectical core the law declaring that opposites enter into a struggle among themselves, but whenthis one. It follows from the law that every phenomenon, object is simultaneously filled from the inside with contradictions that interact, are united, but oppose. According to the understanding of dialectics, the opposite is such a form, a stage when there are specific features, qualities, tendencies that exclude each other, negating each other. The contradiction is the relationship of the parties that are in opposition, when one of the other not only excludes, but is also a condition for its existence.

The formulated essence of the basic law of dialectics obliges to analyze mutual relations by means of a formal logical methodology. It is necessary to forbid contradictions, to exclude the third. This became a certain problem for dialectics at a time when the contradictions studied by science had to be brought in line with epistemological approaches, that is, the doctrine that considers the process of cognition. Material dialectics got out of this situation through the clarification of the relationship of the logical, formal, dialectical.

Pros and cons

The contradictions that are the basis of the laws of dialectics are due to the comparison of statements that are opposite in meaning to one another. In fact, they indicate the fact that there is some problem, without going into details, but they are the start for the research process. Dialectics in the specifics of contradictions includes the need to identify all the intermediate links in the logical chain. This is possible when assessing the degree of development of the phenomenon, determining the mutual relations of internal andexternal contradictions. The task of the philosopher is to determine what type of a particular phenomenon is being studied, whether it can be called the main contradiction, that is, expressing the essence of the object, the main one or it is not. In dialectics, contradiction is entangled in connections.

In short, dialectics in the understanding of our contemporaries is a rather radical method of thinking. Neo-Hegelianism, one of the prominent representatives of which is F. Bradley, calls for the separation of dialectics, formal logic, points to the impossibility of replacing one with another. Arguing their position, philosophers pay attention to the fact that dialectics is the result of a person's limitations, reflects the possibility of thinking that differs from the logical, formal. At the same time, dialectics is only a symbol, but not itself different in structure and form of thinking, which others call divine.

Around us and not only

A distinctive feature of our everyday life is the abundance of contradictions, repetitions, denials. This prompts many to apply the method of dialectics to the cyclical processes observed by man in the surrounding space. But the laws of this area of philosophy are such that they significantly limit the scope of the phenomenon. Both reproduction and negation, as follows from dialectics, can be considered strictly at the level of opposite features of a particular object. It is possible to talk about development only when the initial opposing features are known. True, identifying them at the initial stage is a considerable problem, sincelogical aspects are dissolved in historical premises, returns, denials often only reflect the result of an external factor. Consequently, the similarity in such a situation is nothing more than external, superficial, and therefore does not allow the application of dialectic methods to an object.

The impressive development of the phenomenon, the theory that it is dialectics, was associated with the works on which the followers of Stoicism worked. Particularly important milestones are the works of Clean, Zeno, Chrysippus. It was through their efforts that the phenomenon deepened and expanded. The Stoics analyzed the categories of thought and language, which became a fundamentally new approach to the philosophical movement. The doctrine of the word created at that time was applicable to the surrounding reality, perceived by the logos, from which the cosmos is born, whose element is man. The Stoics viewed everything around them as a single system of bodies, which is why many call them more materialistic than any of the earlier figures.

Neoplatonism and development of thought

Plotinus, Proclus, and other representatives of the school of Neoplatonism thought more than once about how to formulate that this is dialectics. Through the laws and ideas of this area of philosophy, they understood being, its inherent hierarchical structure, as well as the essence of unity, combined with separateness by numbers. Primary numbers, their qualitative content, the world of ideas, the transition between ideas, the formation of phenomena, the formation of the cosmos, the soul of this world - all this is explained in Neoplatonism through dialectical calculations. The views of the representatives of this school largely reflected the predictionsabout the imminent death of the world that surrounded the ancient figures. This is noticeable in the mysticism that dominated the reasoning of that era, systematics, scholasticism.

During the Middle Ages, dialectics is a philosophical section, strictly subordinated to religion and the idea of one god. In fact, science became an aspect of theology, having lost its independence, and its main axis at that moment was the absolute of thinking promoted by scholasticism. The adherents of pantheism followed a slightly different path, although their worldviews are also to some extent based on the calculations of dialectics. Pantheists equated God with nature, which made the subject that arranged the world and the universe, the principle of independent movement inherent in everything around us. Particularly curious in this regard are the works of N. Kuzansky, who developed dialectical ideas as a theory of perpetual motion, pointing to the coincidence of the opposite, minimum, with the maximum. The unity of opposites is an idea actively promoted by the great scientist Bruno.

New time

Different spheres of thinking in this period were subject to metaphysics, dictated by its views. Nevertheless, dialectics is an important aspect of modern philosophy. This can be seen, in particular, from the statements of Descartes, who promoted the theory that the space around us is heterogeneous. It follows from Spinoza's conclusions that nature itself is its own cause, which means that dialectics becomes necessary for the realization of freedom: understandable, unconditional, irrevocable, not amenable to exclusion. Ideas, the appearance of which is duethinking, actually reflect the connections of things, at the same time it is categorically unacceptable to consider matter as a kind of inertia.

Considering the categories of dialectics, Leibniz makes important conclusions. It was he who became the author of a new doctrine, which said that matter is active, itself provides its own movement, is a complex of substances, monads, reflecting different aspects of the world. Leibniz was the first to formulate a deep idea of dialectics, dedicated to time, space, and the unity of these phenomena. The scientist believed that space is the mutual existence of material objects, time is the sequence of these objects one after another. Leibniz became the author of a deep theory of continuous dialectics, which considered the close connections between what happened and what is currently observed.

German philosophers and the development of the categories of dialectics

The classical philosophy of Germany performed by Kant is based on the concept of dialectics, perceived by him as the most universal method of awareness, knowledge, theorizing of the surrounding space. Kant perceived dialectics as a way of exposing the illusions inherent in the mind, due to the desire for absolute knowledge. Kant spoke more than once about knowledge as a phenomenon based on the experience of the senses, substantiated by reason. Higher rational concepts, following Kant, do not have such features. Consequently, dialectics allows you to reach contradictions, which are simply impossible to avoid. Such a critical science became the basis for the future, made it possible to perceive the mind as an element,which is inherent in contradictions, and it will not be possible to avoid them. Such reflections gave rise to the search for methods to cope with contradictions. Already on the basis of critical dialectics, a positive one was formed.

Hegel: the ideal dialectician

As many theorists of our time confidently say, it was Hegel who became the author of the doctrine that took the top of the dialectical picture. An idealist, Hegel was the first in our community to be able to express spiritual, material, nature and history through the process, formulating them as one and constantly moving, developing and changing. Hegel made attempts to formulate the internal connections of development, movement. As a dialectician, Hegel aroused the unlimited admiration of Mark, Engels, which follows from their numerous works.

Hegel's dialectic covers, analyzes reality as a whole, in all its aspects and phenomena, including logic, nature, spirit, history. Hegel formulated a meaningful full-fledged picture in relation to the forms of movement, divided science into essence, being, concept, considered all phenomena in contradiction to themselves, and also formulated the categories of essence.