The concept of the dialectic of the ancient ages.

Herakleitos, who is called the founder of the objective dialectic, maintained that nature comes and goes and then transmigrates for eternity by struggle of opposing elements, and that struggle is the father of all things, The struggle of opposing elements of Herakleitos corresponds to the concept of the dialectic of today.

The Dialectic (Dialektike) of Zenon, who is called the founder of the subjective dialectic, means, in its original usage, a technique of dialogue or an oratory.  This refers to a technique of pointing out and refuting the contradiction in the words of an opponent during a dialogue.  By this method, he pointed out and refuted the contradiction of the concept of movement by Herakleitos.

Based upon the theory of the "sophists," Herakleitos insisted that since all things always transmigrate, truth cannot be fixed.  Therefore, one can assert anything which is suitable for the certain time and place.  From this conviction they usually persuaded their opponents by sophistical logic.  To them also, the dialectic meant an art of debate.

To Socrates, the dialectic was a method of dialogue for the purpose of searching for truth.  He called himself a "philosophos," a man who loves knowledge.  He thought that true knowledge is to obtain universal and appropriate concepts, which everybody could accept, by means of thinking together through dialogue with many people.

According to Plato, the dialectic meant more than a way of obtaining universal and appropriate concepts; it was one of the branches of the study which deals with the relationship among innumerable concepts.  He said that concepts have a hierarchical structure consisting of specific concepts and generic concepts and that the dialectic is to analyze this structure and to synthesize these analyzed elements into one system.  Thus, Plato considered every concept as true existence and called it "Idea."

The concepts of the dialectic of the ancient ages.

We understand that the reason why Herakleitos believed that all things change by struggle is because he analogized the change of all things from the phenomena of struggle in human society.  The give-and-take action and the repulsion phenomena, which had originally been harmonized. came to be separated due to the human fall, and the repulsion action became dominant.  This resulted in the appearance of struggles between good and evil in human society. Natural phenomena, however, are harmonious and develop through give-and take action.  Phenomena which may appear to be an example of repulsion in nature, such as an animal's struggle for survival, can be regarded either as a misunderstanding resulting from superficial observation, or a disorder in nature due to the fall of man and his loss of his gifted dominating power over all other things by his love and creativity.

Zenon's dialectic (art of debate) cannot discern essence and phenomenon, because he did not know the truth concerning the fact and content of the creativity of the universe.  Therefore, in the debate his opponent argued in terms of phenomena of the world of time and space, while Zenon refuted in terms of the concept of the world of essence (which transcends time and space).  Thus, he held an illusion that his opinion was absolutely true.

The Sophists did not know the fact of creation, either.  They were unaware of the unchanging essence behind changing phenomena.  It is not that the truth cannot be fixed, but that what is universal and appropriate can be a real truth.  In other words, if there is a theory which is based upon something more essential, then it can get closer to an unchanging truth.

Discovery of truth by Socrates' dialectic method corresponds to the process of multiplication by the give-and-take action.  If a certain dialogue (give-and-take action) is made centering on a common purpose, a conclusion which is appropriate for both sides can be reached.  Because of this multiplication action, discovery of truth is possible. Therefore, strictly speaking, this method of dialogue is not the dialectic method but the give-and-take method.

Plato's hierarchical structure of concepts corresponds to the innumerable individual images existing in the Inner Hyung Sang (External Form) of the Inner Quadruple Base in the Original Image.  The reason why concepts have a hierarchical structure is that God created all things downward and in sequence taking the Individual Image of man as a specimen in the world of God's idea.

The dialogue of modern times.

According to Kant, the dialectic is the antinomy of pure reason which has contradiction within itself.  "Antinomy of pure reason" implies two opposing propositions maintained with equal right.  It is inevitable to fall into this logic of antinomy when pure reason, separated from direct sensory intuition, is applied to the universe as a whole.

These two propositions are contradictory to each other.  For example, it is possible to set up the proposition that "the universe is finite" by applying the concept of quantity which is one of the categories of pure reason, but at the same time, it is also possible to set up the counter- proposition that "the universe is infinite."  Also, in terms of cause-and-effect which belongs to the concept of relation, it is possible to set up the two opposite propositions as thesis and antithesis, respectively, that is, "the universe has not only natural cause-andeffect, and has no free cause-and-effect" (thesis) and the opposing proposition that "the universe has only natural cause-and-effect, and has no free cause-and-effect" (antithesis).  He called these propositions of antinomy the apparent logic.

Fichte developed Kant's theory of predominance of practical reason, and said that activity ("Tathand lung") is the essence of one's self.  Thus contradiction develops between self and non-self.  Matter which is non-self is subordinate to self (activity).  Without activity, there is neither self nor nonself, If self is set up as thesis by activity, then non-self is set up as antithesis.  At this time, the acting self tries to conquer non-self.  This contradiction becomes the motive power of activity.  This is the gist of Fichte's dialectic.

Hegel's dialectic also is the dialectic of contradiction.  But his dialectic is the dialectic of development by contradiction.  According to Hegel, both nature and spirit develop by repeating the process of three stages based upon contradiction, that is, the process of thesis-antithesis-synthesis.  To Hegel, contradiction means "unity of opposition."  According to him, development has its beginning, its process and its conclusion (return).  The beginning is the Absolute Spirit, and He negates Himself to appear outside (Entfremdung seiner selbst), and becomes nature, and finally returns to the Absolute Spirit by becoming man's spirit.  The history of the universe and mankind and also all natural phenomena are the process of the dialectical development of the self- realization of the Absolute Spirit.

The dialectic in the world of the Absolute Spirit (God) is "the Dialectic of Idea" of "Being (Sein)-Essence (Wesen)-Concept (Begriff)."  The dialectic which works in the natural world is "the dialectic of Nature" of "Inorganic Matter-Compound-Organic Matter."  The dialectic which works in man's spirit is "the Dialectic of Spirit" of "Subjective Spirit- Objective Spirit-Absolute Spirit."  This is the gist of Hegel's dialectic.

Criticism of the dialectic of modern times.

Kant's Antinomy

This is nothing but a self-confession of ignorance of the existence of God and the principle of His creation.  No matter how big the universe may be, it is finite because it is the created and relative world.  Only the Absolute Being is infinite.

Secondly, whether or not free cause-and-effect exists in the universe is not a matter of importance.  For the universe was created by God and it is headed for purpose and develops by the autonomy of the Principle itself.  So, purposeful cau se-an d -effect (free causeand-effect) is working along with natural cause-and-effect.

Fichte's Contradiction between Self and Non-self.  Fichte's self means man who is subject, non-self means all things (except man) which are objects, and activity means practice, that is, dominion.  He regarded also cognition and thinking as activity.  He said that man's essence is activity, since everyone recognizes, thinks, and acts, i.e., he is always in activity.  It is wrong to include cognition in the category of activity.  Cognition is made for obtaining joy, whereas activity is made for the dominion over all things.  It is true that each is a part of the circuit of give-and-take action, but each is different from the other in function and purpose.

Also it is erroneous to say that self and non-self are contradictory to each other.  If man had not fallen, man would have dominated all things by love.  There could be neither struggle nor contradiction between man and all things, but only harmony between them.  Contradiction is the relationship of mutual negation between the two.  But actually subject (man) needs object (all things) and object needs subject.  Thus, there can be no mutual negation.

Hegel

Hegel's dialectic is fundamentally erroneous.  He considered God's creation of the universe as the self- realization of the Absolute Spirit (Ideal). But since he did not know the purpose of creation, he thought by mistake that the motive of the self-realization was contradiction instead of purpose (Heart).

Also he regarded nature as the middle stage through which the Absolute Spirit returns to Himself, but this also is erroneous.  Nature (all things) was created to become the object of man's joy and dominion.  Man's spirit is not ultimately to return to the Absolute Being, that is, God.  Man was given spirit (mind) as Sung Sang and body as Hyung Sang in order that spirit (mind) and body could perform the original giveand-take action to resemble the Original Image and become the substantial object of God's joy.  In Hegel's dialectic, there are many other errors.

The law of contradiction (the law of unity and struggle of opposing elements) in the Communist dialectic.

Explanation

Innately everything has two opposing elements within itself.  These opposing elements are united with each other, and at the same time they are struggling.  Because of this, everything moves, changes and develops.  This law of contradiction works in social development, that is, in history also.  The ruling class and the ruled class, or productive forces and production relations maintain unity with each other on the one hand, and struggle on the other hand. Because of this, they develop. But according to Lenin, unity is temporary, relative and conditional, and struggle is permanent, absolute and unconditional, and therefore movement and development are derived from the struggle of the opposing elements

Critique

This is false.  Struggle is developed only when some purposes or interests are opposite to each other.  In the natural world it is not the opposing elements but the reciprocal elements that have harmonious give-and-take action centering on a common purpose.  Only in human society many struggles have developed.  The essence of these struggles has been neither struggle between classes nor the struggle between productive forces and production relations, but rather the struggle between the subjective power on the side of goodness and that on the side of evil which came to be separated in accordance with the providential law of separation.  This is because the repulsion action which originally was to supplement give-and-take action takes place, due to the fall of man, as a phenomenon which disturbs give-and-take action.  But owing to the repulsion action between good and evil, and victory on the side of good, history has been developing in the direction of restoration.

"The Law of Transition from Quantitative Change to Qualitative Change" in Communism.

Explanation

Everything has both quantitative and qualitative aspects.  In development, quantitative change comes about first. When this change reaches a certain stage, qualitative change suddenly appears.  It is said that quantitative change is gradual and smooth, whereas qualitative change is abrupt and sudden.  The following are good examples: When water reaches 1OO C, it boils; an egg hatches as a chick; and a seed germinates as a shoot.  This law works also in the development of society:  When the quantitative increase of economic struggle (strike, etc.) reaches a certain stage, it suddenly changes into political struggle, that is, revolution.

Critique

Everything is an individual truth body, and in development, both quantitative and qualitative change comes about through harmonious give-and-take action between subjective and objective elements which exist within the individual truth body.  Furthermore, quantitative change and qualitative change occur simultaneously.  One never precedes the other. Boiling of water is not a developmental movement, because steam becomes water when the temperature falls. It is also possible for water to vaporize without boiling.  Therefore, quantitative change and qualitative change do not always have sequence in time, but generally are simultaneous.  This simultaneous change in quality and in quantity is called "the Law of the Simultaneous Development (change) of Sung Sang and Hyung Sang."

"The Law of Negation of Negation" in Communism.

Explanation

Two opposing elements (contradiction) inside a thing have the relationship of thesis and antithesis, and thesis is always negated by antithesis, whereas antithesis is transferred (or shifted) to be negated again.  Thus, synthesis which is neither thesis nor antithesis can be formed.  This is what is called "negation of negation."  This synthesis is a new thesis, and is negated again by a new antithesis, which is negated again. In this way a new synthesis is formed.  Thus, development continues infinitely.  This means that development results from negation of negation, and that this takes a direction of restoration.  For example, a bird is negated to become an egg.  This egg is negated again to become a new bird.  A seed is negated to become a bud.  The bud grows to bear fruit, and a new bud appears.  Also in human history, classless society is shifted to become class society (slave society, feudal society, capitalist society), and then again to become classless society, that is, Communist society comes about by means of negation of the negation.

Critique

Negation, as well as struggle, comes about when some interests or purposes are opposite to each other.  But, in any thing there can never be seen any opposing elements, in the sense that they have not the same purpose.  We can find only two relative elements aiming at the same purpose.  The reason is because all things are individual truth bodies which have relative elements of subject and object.  Therefore, development of things does not result from negation, but from harmonious give-and-take action in mutual affirmation.  The same thing can be said of all development in nature, for example in such cases as an egg or a bud.  But in social development, because of the fall of man, based upon the law of separation, in opposition to a subject of evil there appears a subject of goodness, and both struggle with each other.  This is not give-and-take action but repulsion action.  Because of this struggle, history comes to take the direction of restoration.  But once the providence of restoration is accomplished, there is development based upon give-and-take action alone centering on a common purpose.  Then society comes to develop harmoniously. For this reason, human society up to today has been the history of restoration to the original status before the fall of man.  After the fulfillment of restoration there is only infinite development based on give-and-take action, but not restoration.  At that time, there will be no repulsion action nor struggle.

The Communist dialectic concerning repetitive movement and progressive movement.

Explanation

According to the Communist dialectic, it movement arises only because of a conditional cause given from the outside (for example, heat), and not because of the essential contradiction within the thing, then the movement appears as repetitive movement.  (For example, a movement that water changes into steam, and steam condenses into water.) And, if a movement arises because of the essential cause of contradiction within the thing, even though the same cause is present, then the movement appears as developing movement toward some definite direction. (For example, hatching of an egg.)

Critique

They insist that every movement is attributed to contradiction inside the thing; they also insist that repetitive movement results from a conditional cause given from outside.  These assertions are contradictory, and the latter assertion is essentially the same as the view of mechanistic materialism.

In the case of the evaporation of water, the relative elements (attractive force and repulsive force of molecules) inside water are lifeless, so only repetitive movement arises.  In the case of an egg, the subjective elements (the embryo) of the two relative elements inside the egg (the embryo and the shell), has life, so a progressive movement arises. Communism cannot discern life and matter correctly.