Text of the Matter Reader: History of Dialectics Part 2

Text of the Matter

In our second episode of the 'Dialectics Reader' Egon and Misha dive into the German revival of the dialectic, from its Aristotelian and Scholastic (via Islamic) interpretation. We begin with the major concepts and works of the thinkers that follow Kant's Transcendental Dialectic--Fichte and his idea of Absolute Ego, Schelling and his naturalist critiques of Hegel and Fichte's rejection of natural reality, and then finally into Hegel and Marx, the canonical philosophers of contemporary dialectics. We will explain the differences between the various idealistic systems and their points of interest, as well as the distinctive characteristics of Hegel's idealist dialectic, moving from thought to absolute knowledge in society; to Marx's materialist dialectic, moving from the internal contradictions of commodities to a human revolution of economic and political organization.

We thank all viewers for their patience with our recent technical issues and are excited to use our expanded equipment in future episodes. So join us in our deep dive into the torrents and whirlpools of the dialectic.