In other words, I can never define myself purely in relation to myself it is through my interaction with the external world that I become aware of my self-consciousness. In The Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel described subjectivity as “a being-for-self which is for itself only through another” (115). The infinite character of the dialectic reflects Hegel’s notion of holistic truth and his optimistic belief in progress.ĭialectic permeated Hegel’s philosophy, but his dialectical model of subjectivity as the interpenetration between subject and object probably holds the most relevance for us today.
It is also teleological because “each later stage of dialectic contains all the earlier stages, as it were in solution none of them is wholly superceded, but is given its proper place as a moment in the whole” (Russell 731). Each time synthesis is achieved it “generate new internal contradictions, and then a further resolution” (Macey 96). This formula is infinitely renewable Hegel contended it would only terminate upon the world’s end.
DIALECTIC PROCESS DEFINITION FREE
Succinctly put, the dialectic “actualizes itself by alienating itself, and restores its self-unity by recognizing this alienation as nothing other than its own free expression or manifestation” (Bottomore 122). The thesis and antithesis are yoked and resolved to form the embracing resolution, or synthesis. One begins with a static, clearly delineated concept (or thesis), then moves to its opposite (or antithesis), which represents any contradictions derived from a consideration of the rigidly defined thesis. The general formulation of Hegel’s dialectic is a three-step process comprising the movement from thesis to antithesis to synthesis. Roughly speaking, Hegel’s dialectic involves the reconciliation of ostensible paradoxes to arrive at absolute truth. Indeed, dialectic was the cornerstone of his philosophy, and he conceptualized systems as diverse as the history of the world and the journey of the human spirit as operating according to dialectical structures. In other words, “the apparent self-substinence of finite things appeared to him as illusion nothing, he held, is ultimately and completely real except the whole” (Caygill 157). Above all, Hegel’s dialectic was based on his emphatic belief in connectedness, or the interrelation of all aspects of the universe. While his thinking was shaped by Kant’s discussion of antimonies in The Critique of Pure Reason, Hegel considered dialectic a medium of truth rather than a means to uncover illusion. It is with Hegel, however, that the modern notion of dialectic crystallized. Kant’s dialectic could be considered a medium of false epistemology.
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In other words, “ dialectic no longer offers rules for executing convincing judgments, but teaches how to detect and uncover judgments which bear a semblance of truth but are in fact illusory” (Caygill 157). His definition of dialectic, which is closely related to that of Aristotle, involves illusory knowledge that is reminiscent of sophistry. In modern times, dialectic has been vital within the German philosophical tradition beginning with Kant. Finally, Cicero associated dialectic with rhetoric. Aristotle, on the other hand, believed that dialectic was an inferior form of reasoning, as it was based on a priori knowledge rather than empirical observation. In Plato’s writings, dialectic is a highly valued vehicle for truth it is akin to dialogue and closely associated with the Socratic method. The word ‘dialectic’ is derived from the Greek and has three classical connotations. Indeed, dialectic facilitates the philosophic enterprise as described by Bertrand Russell, who wrote that “to teach how to live without certainty, and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age, can still do for those who study it” (xiv). As such, dialectic is the medium that helps us comprehend a world that is racked by paradox. Generally speaking, dialectic is a mode of thought, or a philosophic medium, through which contradiction becomes a starting point (rather than a dead end) for contemplation. A number of history’s most illustrious thinkers have wrestled with the meaning of ‘dialectic,’ and as a result, the concept has permutated considerably since the inception of Western philosophy.
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