Ask the Scholar
Page 6 of 46
I can add historical knowledge about this page.
Page image
OCR
c
RATIONAL
ARCHIVES AND
RECOROS
SERVICE¹
WHAT IS DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM?
Dialectical Materialism is the philosophy upon which present
day Communism is officially based. It was developed in the period
from 1840 to 1890 within the circle of the Marxian Socialist movement
and is largely the handiwork of Marx and Engels. For many years it
remained largely unknown to non-Socialist thinkers and it has not
always been accepted even among professed Marxian Socialists. The
success of the Communist Revolution in Russia, however, has given
Dialectical Materialism, as expounded by Lenin, a new character as a
contemporary force. It is impossible adequately to appraise the
political implications of modern Communism without an understanding of
its basic philosophy.
The term "Dialectics", as used in ancient Greece, meant the
process of arriving at truth by means of debate. In the early 19th
century the German philosopher, Hegel, worked out an elaborate system
of philosophy in which the Grecian concept of dialectics was used as
an explanation of reality. Hegel postulated that every idea or "thesis"
necessarily possesses an ideal opposite or "antithesis". The interaction
of thesis and antithesis results in a new, modified, idea which in turn
serves as the thesis for a continuous evolutionary process culminating,
for Hegel, in the Absolute Idea (God), or pure spirit freed from its
self-alienation in matter. Hegel was an idealist who interpreted all
material existence as a manifestation of mind or idea.
Marx was educated at a time when Hegelianism was at its peak
in Germany. He discovered in Hegelian Dialectics a methodology which
-4-
Page data
- Page
- 6
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- 7393f7e92842ed8a
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 213875129
- Core
- doc
- Type
- document
DTO data
{
"id": "213875129",
"sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875129",
"contentType": "document",
"title": "Report, Dialectical Materialism and Russian Objectives by Edward F. Willett",
"citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875129",
"collections": [
"President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
"Subject Files"
],
"iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750363/750363-07-001.jpg",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750363/750363-07-001.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750363/750363-07-001.jpg",
"imageCount": 46,
"hasImages": true,
"source": "import",
"hasTranscription": false
}
Context sent to Scholar
Document identity
{
"localId": "213875129",
"label": "Report, Dialectical Materialism and Russian Objectives by Edward F. Willett",
"core": "doc",
"dtoType": "document",
"citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875129"
}
Document source metadata
{
"id": "213875129",
"sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875129",
"contentType": "document",
"title": "Report, Dialectical Materialism and Russian Objectives by Edward F. Willett",
"citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875129",
"collections": [
"President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
"Subject Files"
],
"iiifBase": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750363/750363-07-001.jpg",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750363/750363-07-001.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750363/750363-07-001.jpg",
"imageCount": 46,
"hasImages": true,
"source": "import",
"hasTranscription": false
}
Document source extras
{
"url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875129",
"naId": 213875129,
"levelOfDescription": "item",
"productionDates": [
{
"day": 14,
"logicalDate": "1946-01-14",
"month": 1,
"year": 1946
}
],
"recordType": "description",
"ocrSource": "nara-archive"
}
Page context
{
"seq": 6,
"pageIndex": 0,
"type": "photo",
"url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750363/750363-07-006.jpg",
"mediaId": "7393f7e92842ed8a",
"ocrText": "c\nRATIONAL\nARCHIVES AND\nRECOROS\nSERVICE¹\nWHAT IS DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM?\nDialectical Materialism is the philosophy upon which present\nday Communism is officially based. It was developed in the period\nfrom 1840 to 1890 within the circle of the Marxian Socialist movement\nand is largely the handiwork of Marx and Engels. For many years it\nremained largely unknown to non-Socialist thinkers and it has not\nalways been accepted even among professed Marxian Socialists. The\nsuccess of the Communist Revolution in Russia, however, has given\nDialectical Materialism, as expounded by Lenin, a new character as a\ncontemporary force. It is impossible adequately to appraise the\npolitical implications of modern Communism without an understanding of\nits basic philosophy.\nThe term \"Dialectics\", as used in ancient Greece, meant the\nprocess of arriving at truth by means of debate. In the early 19th\ncentury the German philosopher, Hegel, worked out an elaborate system\nof philosophy in which the Grecian concept of dialectics was used as\nan explanation of reality. Hegel postulated that every idea or \"thesis\"\nnecessarily possesses an ideal opposite or \"antithesis\". The interaction\nof thesis and antithesis results in a new, modified, idea which in turn\nserves as the thesis for a continuous evolutionary process culminating,\nfor Hegel, in the Absolute Idea (God), or pure spirit freed from its\nself-alienation in matter. Hegel was an idealist who interpreted all\nmaterial existence as a manifestation of mind or idea.\nMarx was educated at a time when Hegelianism was at its peak\nin Germany. He discovered in Hegelian Dialectics a methodology which\n-4-"
}