Content and Form

Content is the identity of all the elements and moments of the whole with the whole itself; it is the composition of all the elements of the object in their qualitative definiteness, interaction, and functioning; the unity of the object's properties, processes, relations, contradictions and trends of development. It is not all that the object "contains" that constitutes its content.

Form is the structure of anything as opposed to its constitution or content; essence as opposed to matter. In the philosophy of Plato it is the ideal universal that exists independently of the particulars which fall under it.

The above-mentioned principles, laws and categories form the nuclear of one of the philosophical methods – dialectics. Contrary to the other styles of philosophizing, dialectics regards the world in its unity, wholeness, and with a syncretic approach. It teaches us that all phenomena and processes are mutually conditioned and connected. A reason causes the appearance of a result, the freedom of choice imposes a responsibility, behind the phenomenon there is an essence, a form has a content and so on, so forth. That is why in the future dialectics will be applied as a methodological basis of solving the main philosophical problems.

Basic concepts and categories:

Determinism is a worldviewand methodologicalprinciple which derives the possibility ofcognition, of explanation and prediction of events of both dynamic and probabilistic nature from the fact that everything in the world is interconnected and causally conditioned. Causality is the nucleus of the principle of determinism, but it does not exhaust its entire content.

Development is an irreversible, definitely oriented and law-governed change of material and ideal objects resulting in the emergence of new qualities.

Discussion is the public examination or consideration of any vexed questions or problems in speech or writing, which is expected to find out the truth.

Dialectics in its primary meaning was the art of conversation, the method of finding out the truth by means of detection and eliminating contradictions in the opponent’s judgments; in the modern philosophy it is the method and the theory of development in its most complete, deep-going, and comprehensive form. The essence of the dialectical approach lies in finding the source and motive forces of development, in the interpretation of its mechanisms and a direction.

Dialectical contrariety is the interaction of opposite but hereat interdependent properties, parts, processes in a system, which are the source and the inner motive force of its development.

Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people, stipulated by a certain situation of a mutual perception, interplay and connection with the before expressed opinions etc. As a rule, it is characterized by an unorganizedness, non-directionality and reiteration.

Law is an essential, stable, regular and necessary type of connection between phenomena considered in a generalized form and adjusted to the typologically classified conditions of its manifestations.

Categories of dialectics are general concepts reflecting the most essential, law-governed connections and relationships of re­ality; they are "stages of distinguishing, i.e. of cognizing the world, focal points in the web, which assist in cognizing and mastering it".

Metaphysics is a comprehensive approach to natural phenomena, society and thinking, which explains development as a quantitative accumulation not necessarily causing some qualitative changes. Metaphysics denies the existence of inherent contradictions in objects and their self-development; the source of development is defined as a collision of some external opposing forces. It is characterized by the static mode of thinking, by the veering of thought from one extreme to the other, by exaggeration of some aspect of an object, such as stability, repetition, and relative independence. Before Hegel and Marx the term “metaphysics” was identified with the term “philosophy”.

Principle – the essence, the main point, the bench mark, the precondition of a certain concept or a theory.

System is a group or combination of interrelated, interdependent, or interacting elements forming a collective entity; a methodical or coordinated assemblage of parts, facts, concepts, etc.

Questions and Tasks for Self-Control:

1. What two meanings does the term dialectics have?

2. What are historical forms of dialectics?

3. How many principles of dialectics do you know?

4. How can you characterize development?

5. Which two aspectsof the surrounding world does historism imply?

6. Does the universe have a code of laws of its own?

7. How can we classify laws?

8. What does the law of the transformation of quantity into quality reveal? Explain its relation with the law of the unity and struggle of opposites?

9. What is negation? How is it correlated with the law of the unity and struggle of opposites?

10. Can the laws of dialectics substitute some single scientific laws? If yes or no, then why?

11. Give your account to the categories of dialectics?

12. How are the categories of dialectics correlated with the laws of dialectics?

Literature:

Basic:

Alexander Spirkin. Fundamentals of Philosophy / Alexander Spirkin. — M.: Progress Publishers, 1990. — 423 p.

The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy / Edward Craig. – New York: Routledge, 2005. — 1077 p.

Supplementary:

Bertell Ollman. Dance of the Dialectic: Steps in Marx's Method / Bertell Ollman. — Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 2003. — 232 p.

Primary Sources:

Friedrich Engels. Dialectic's of Nature. — Eelectronic resource: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1883/don/ index.htm.

Georg Wilhelm Fredrich Hegel. Science of Logic / Georg Hegel: [transl. by George di Giovanni]. — New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. — 790 p.

George Edward Novack. An Introduction to the Logic of Marxism / George Novack. — New York, Merit Publishers, 1966. — 124 p.

Vagueness: a reader / Rosanna Keefe, Peter Smith. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1996. — 352 p.

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