20th Century Philosophy: Dialectical Materialism and the Problem of Change
Materialism is the collective name for understandings that see matter as the basis of existence.
The concept of materialism has been put forward by different thinkers since Ancient Times, and the fundamental nature of matter has been defended in various forms. Marx and Engels, who are based on materialist thinking, described Hegel’s dialectic as upside down because they started from spirit. According to them, Hegel has put forward a correct idea by determining the dialectical method through the processes of thesis-antithesis-synthesis; however, he made a mistake by starting with spirit in the thesis stage. The thesis stage should begin with matter, i.e. nature. Marx and Engels have put forward the concept of dialectical materialism with their approach. According to them, the whole process of existence consists of qualitative leaps formed by the quantitative accumulations of nature. Qualitative accumulations also enable the changes in quantity.
In general, Engels defines the dialectical method as the movement and changes of thought and nature, while Marx defines it as the movement and changes of society. Engels used it to explain. Engels tried to explain nature and the dialectics of nature by examining the scientific knowledge of the period. He argued that thought and nature are in harmonious structures and that the functioning of thought is shaped according to the laws of nature. In this respect, it is an epistemological-ontological view in addition to being a dialectical method.
Marx tried to explain historical transformation by examining social changes in history and relating them to production processes. According to him, people are subject to different classes as those who produce and possess in the economic process. While economic production relations form the material elements as the substructure (foundation) in society, institutions such as politics and law form the superstructure. According to Marx, the substructure determines the superstructure. Marx argues that the economic elements of a society (substructure) shape phenomena such as culture and law (superstructure). According to him, changes in the substructure and superstructure create new economic systems by influencing each other. The inclination of Marx is also referred to as historical materialism. Dialectical materialism is one of the main philosophical currents of the 20th century.