Dialectical materialism is a philosophy that originated in Europe based on the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
It is a philosophical theory whose concept defends that the reality of society is defined by means materials based on studies that can be carried out, for example, in the context of economics, geography, sciences, etc.
Marx and Engels found, through this theory, a way to understand the social processes that took place throughout history.
Statues of Kark Marx (left) and Friedrich Engels (right) in Berlin, Germany.
Characteristics of dialectical materialism
Check below the main characteristics of dialectical materialism.
- It considers that material and not concrete means define social reality.
- It is based on dialectics to understand social processes.
- Does not agree with the concept that history is static and definitive.
- It is totally opposed to idealism.
- Study historical facts based on contradictory elements.
- It defends that any analysis must evaluate a whole and not just the object of the study in question.
Fundamental principles of dialectical materialism
Dialectical materialism is subdivided into four fundamental principles.
Are they:
- The history of philosophy encompasses a process of conflict between the idealist principle (which is based on ideas, thoughts and in the abstract as a whole) and the materialist principle (which is based on materials, facts and studies concrete).
- Every human being is responsible for determining his own conscience and not the other way around.
- Matter is dialectical and not metaphysical, that is, it is constantly changing and not static.
- Dialectics is the study of contradiction in the essence of things; she bases her studies on comparing contradictions by analyzing a whole.
Difference between materialism and idealism
Materialism emerged as opposition to idealism.
Marxist materialism defends that ideas have a physical origin and that, for this reason, they are based on data, results and advances in science.
Philosophical idealism, in turn, attributes the concept of reality to the spirit and argues that ideas are divine creations or that they obey the will of deities or other supernatural forces.
Materialism is totally opposed to idealism and the main difference between the two is that, while for the former, reality is material and consequently concrete, for the second it is based on factors such as thoughts and supernatural forces, that is, it is abstract.
Difference between dialectical materialism and historical materialism
Although both were developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, dialectical materialism and historical materialism are completely different concepts.
While dialectical materialism consists of a Marxist method of reasoning that considers that all analysis must be done in a general way, without contemplating only the object of study itself, but also facts, ideas and data that contradict it, historical materialism is the Marxist way of interpreting history with regard to class struggle social.
According to historical materialism, society evolves through clashes between different social classes.
know more about dialectic and historical materialism.
The Marxist Dialectic
Karl Marx resorted to dialectics to address historical issues.
One of the foundations of historical dialectics is that nothing can be considered perpetual because everything is in constant evolution and change. Thus, Marx considers the natural evolution of history, not admitting that it is static.
The Marxist dialectic was based on the dialectic defended by Friedrich Hegel, but with some disagreements.
Bust of Hegel with his initials (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel) in Berlin, Germany.
Marx agreed with the concept of Hegelian dialectic with regard to the fact that nothing is static and that everything is in a constant process of change. According to this foundation, A can become B or even be replaced by C.
However, Hegel's fundamental principle is that human experience depends on the perceptions of the mind, which goes completely against what Marx defended.
For Marx, this concept was too abstract to address issues such as social inequalities, economic and political alienation, exploitation and poverty.
Marxist dialectics considers that reality must be analyzed as a whole, through contradiction. To analyze a concept, for example, not only must it be studied, analyzed and taken into account, but also another concept that contradicts it.
In this way, a confrontation will be made between the two opposing concepts in order to reach a conclusion.
Relationship between materialism and dialectics
The logic of the concept of dialectical materialism can be explained by the designation itself:
Materialism: the foundation of the theory is based on material means rather than abstract means such as thoughts and ideas.
dialectic: the theory was characterized as dialectic because its logic consists in the interpretation of processes as an opposition of forces that, in general, culminates in a solution.