The Dialectic

The dialectic has been a part of philosophy since the times of Socrates and Plato, however it doesn't really appear in Aristotle's work, which is probably why it is not that well known currently. For Socrates it was a kind of argument, two sides competing to be the Truth. Whereas Aristotle's logic is in the form, if A is true then B is true, the dialectic is more like, if A is true then B is false. It's my belief that this change to our logical structure could represent a new and better understanding of both out minds and the matter in the world. There is little surprise that in the study of physics there is anti-matter and dark-matter, also there are singularities, considered as areas where our measurements tend to infinity. Also in the mind, we have so many conflicting concepts, science and faith, universal's and individual's, senses and reason. Separating A and B seems like a logical step, rather than combining A and B, although I hope my theory can unite both, and separate both.

A long time after the Greeks, the dialectic becomes more important again, during the enlightenment it was turned into a logic by the philosopher Hegel. So when I say I've had a new idea, really I mean, take what we have and adjust it a little, evolution not revolution. One of my favourite chapters of philosophy is in the Critique of Pure Reason, by Kant, it's called The Transcendental Dialectic. In this chapter it describes the limits of our understanding and at the very limits of knowledge is a dialectic. The first one, called an antinomy, is the universe finite or infinite? Unanswerable. The second one, at our core are we simple or complex? The third one, are we free or deterministic? and last, does there need to be an absolute being? This outline of how far we can judge ourselves, and others and the world, is central to my theory of dialectical logic and also a major part of my dualities.

My dialectic is a little different, it starts with the separation of mental and physical. At the one end is the Void and we judge it's properties via finite and infinite. The other end is God and he is judged by perfect or imperfect. Then there is the combination of mind and body, causality and freedom, chaos and reason, a kind of dialectical dialectic. We can demonstrate both that mind is different to body, but also that mind and body are joined, all depending on which set of concepts are being used. My own theory is of, body, spirit and soul, body is the physical necessity, spirit is the mental expression and soul is that which combines the two and forms our unchanging beingness. To speak of Kant's work is to think of our soul being both physically complex, DNA and mentally simple Beingness. If we are able to show that Truth depends on which line we are taking and which problem we wish to solve, then the dialectic can show us greater understanding of the limits of our judgements and also that a being can be different depending on which approach you take to understand them.