Called by Marx “The Philosopher of Socialism,” Joseph Dietzgen (1828-1888) was a pioneer of dialectical materialism and a fundamental influence on anarchist and socialist thought who we would do well not to forget.
Dietzgen examines what we do when we think. He discovered that thinking is a process involving two opposing processes: generalization, and specialization. All thought is therefore a dialectical process. Our knowledge is inherently limited however, which makes truth relative and the seeking of truth on-going. The only absolute is existence itself, or the universe, everything else is limited or relative. Although a philosophical materialist, he extended these concepts to include all that was real, existing or had an impact upon the world. Thought and matter were no longer radically separated as in older forms of materialism. The Nature of Human Brain Work is vital for theorists today in that it lays the basis for a non-dogmatic, flexible, non-sectarian, yet principled socialist politics.
The Nature of Human Brain Work: An Introduction to Dialectics
SKU: 9781604860368
Author: Joseph Dietzgen • Afterword, notes and bibliography by Larry Gambone
Publisher: PM Press
ISBN: 9781604860368
Published: 5/2010
Format: Paperback, ePub, PDF, mobi
Page count: 144
Size: 5.5 x 8.5
Subjects: Dialectics/Politics
Praise
“Here is our philosopher!” —Karl Marx
“…brilliant contributions to the theory of knowledge.” —Anton Pannekoek
“Left…a fine legacy of wisdom in his writings” —Friedrich A. Sorge
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