The positive outcome of philosophyDietzgen, Joseph
Philosophy
The positive outcome of philosophy
Dietzgen, Joseph
Knowledge, Theory of; Logic; Philosophy
And logic teaches: The spirit is a part of universal existence. Whoever
worships the spirit, is an idolator, for he worships a part and
misunderstands the whole truth. Truth itself is identical with the
universal existence, with the world, and all things are simply forms,
phenomena, predicates, attributes, passing expressions of it. The
universal existence may be called divine because it is infinite, being
the alpha and omega which comprises all things as special truths. The
intellect is such a limited part among other special parts of divine
truth, and the latter is frequently called world without any bombastic
emphasis.
Undoubtedly, every science, profession and trade can say the same thing
of its object. The blue sky and the green trees are divine parts.
Everything is interrelated and connected. If that were a good reason for
not making any subdivisions, every part and description would become
endlessly tiresome.
However, the specialty of logic is the cosmic sum of all truths, because
it aims at a general elucidation of the nature of the human brain. This
purpose is not so well served by an accumulation of other knowledge as
by the general understanding of truth.
Logic, which seeks to enlighten the mind for the purpose of scientific
thinking, does not so much treat of true conceptions as of the general
and absolute conception of truth which is inseparably linked to the
infinite universal life.
If you wish to think scientifically, you will first of all strive after
clear ideas. And yet your head may be quite clear in regard to everyday
things, without getting any nearer to general clearness. Nor is such
clearness obtainable by the accumulation of mere special knowledge, for
even if you were to grow in wisdom to the end of your days, nevertheless
the fountain of wisdom, the universe, is inexhaustible and your brain
will remain imperfectly informed or unclear as before. Yea, even the
smallest part of the world is so inexhaustible that the most talented
can never acquire all the knowledge necessary to understand entirely
even the most minute object. The strongest microscope cannot see all
there is to see in a drop of water, and the wisest man can never learn
all there is to shoemaking.
You can see by all this that the scientific use of our intellect is
furthered by special knowledge only in the corresponding details. For
this reason it does not satisfy us to have some logicians tell us how
many kinds of concepts, judgments and conclusions are contained in our
intellect. These are special details of logic. But the thing of first
importance for the student of logic is the elucidation of the universal
concept of truth, not the accumulation of special truths.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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