of or relating to logical disputation; "a dialectical weapon against his opponent
of or relating to logical disputation; "a dialectical weapon against his opponent"
In philosophy, Dialectical is used to describe situations, theories, and methods which depend on resolving opposing factors. The essence of dialectical thought is division
The concept of reality in which material things are in the constant process of change brought about by the tension between conflicting or interacting forces, elements, or ideas
social and economic theory espoused by Marx and Engels which states that the material basis of reality is constantly changing and that matter holds priority over mind
The Marxian interpretation of reality that views matter as the sole subject of change and all change as the product of a constant conflict between opposites arising from the internal contradictions inherent in all events, ideas, and movements. Philosophical approach expressed through the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and later by Georgy Plekhanov, Vladimir Ilich Lenin, and Joseph Stalin, the official philosophy of communism. Its central tenet, borrowed from Hegelianism, is that all historical growth, change, and development results from the struggle of opposites. (In philosophical terms, a thesis is opposed by its antithesis, which results in a synthesis.) Specifically, it is the class struggle the struggle between the capitalist and landowning classes, on the one hand, and the proletariat and peasantry, on the other that creates the dynamic of history. The laws of historical dialectics are seen to be so powerful that individual leaders are of little historical consequence. Originally conceived as operating primarily in the social, economic, and political realm, the principle was extended in the 20th century to the scientific realm as well, with major effects on Soviet science. Marx and Engels stated their philosophical views mainly in the course of polemics and brief historical studies; there is no systematic exposition of dialectical materialism