Landmarks of Scientific Socialism: "Anti-Duehring"Engels, Friedrich
Philosophy
Landmarks of Scientific Socialism: "Anti-Duehring"
Engels, Friedrich
Dialectical materialism; Dühring, E. (Eugen), 1833-1921; Economics; Philosophy; Socialism
It shows a complete lack of comprehension of the nature of the
dialectic to regard it as Herr Duehring does, as an instrument of mere
proof, just as one can after a limited fashion employ formal logic or
elementary mathematics. Formal logic is itself more than anything else
a method for the discovery of new results, for advancing from the
known to the unknown, and so, but in a much more distinguished sense,
is the dialectic, which, since it transcends the narrow limits of
formal logic, attains a more comprehensive philosophical position. It
is the same with mathematics. Elementary mathematics, the mathematics
of constant quantities, proceeds within the limits of formal logic, at
least as a rule: the mathematics of variable quantities which is
peculiarly concerned with calculations running to the infinite, is
substantially nothing but the application of the dialectic in
mathematics. Mere proof becomes secondary before the manifold
application of the method to new fields of investigation. But nearly
all the proofs of higher mathematics from the first of the
differential calculus, are, strictly speaking, false from the
standpoint of elementary mathematics. This cannot be otherwise, if
one, as is here the case, wishes to establish results won in the realm
of dialectics by means of formal logic. For a crass metaphysician like
Herr Duehring to want to prove anything by means of the dialectic
would be the same wasted labor as Leibnitz and his pupils went through
when they tried to establish the thesis of calculation to infinity by
means of the mathematics of their time. The differential gave them
the same spasms as the negation of the negation gives Herr Duehring
and it played a role in it as we shall see. They admitted it at last,
at least as many as did not die first, not because they were convinced
but because it always worked out right. Herr Duehring, is, as he says,
just in his forties, and if he attains old age, as we hope he will, he
may also experience the same.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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