Denial in logic is the act of refuting a statement that is not true. Moreover, this act unfolds in a new thesis. The law of negation of negation briefly represents the emergence of something new, canceling, and then replacing the old. When did this provision begin to apply? What is the law of negation of negation? Examples and explanation will be given later in the article.
general information
When something new appears, the old is canceled. Thus, the reality of the former is denied by the fact of the existence of the new. Who was the first to use this term? This law was first applied by Hegel. With his help, the thinker explained the cyclical development of reality. Since reality itself is an activity of the Absolute idea itself, and therefore of the Absolute Mind:
- First of all, if an Idea does something, then it is reasonable. Consequently, its activity refers in its source to the Mind.
- The idea, secondly, is not material. From this it follows that any action refers to the Mind, not only by source, but by its nature as a whole.
The nature of the activity of any Reason
The fulfillment of something by any Reason Absolute, including, consists in the complete denial (permanent cancellation) by it of each present state following it. The new is born in the form of a ripened internal contradiction. How is the law of negation of negation manifested? The essence of the internal contradiction, ripening in the Mind and canceling the current state, is that this phenomenon is the abolition of the definition, concept or thought that has just been proposed and approved. Now he has to give up this because of his own internal movement of thinking. This state - the emergence of an internal contradiction of the Mind to Self - its first denial. Thus, the first manifestation of something new occurs. The contradiction forming in Reason is nothing but an internal rejection of the previous content. At the same time, some need for thinking activity is revealed at the same time. This work should be aimed at understanding and resolving the situation.
Further activities of the Mind
Above was an example of the manifestation of the first denial. This process further stimulates and pushes to resolution all that in which it appears. The work of thinking is carried out actively enough to remove the emerging contradiction. To resolve the situation, he has to form a new content of Reason, which would cancel the old one - where the contradiction was aggravated. After the state resolves sooner or later and is eliminated, a new content and state of Mind will appear. Thus, the law of double negation will work - the abolition of the first refusal. As a result, an aggravation of internal contradiction is noted. It follows from this that the first negation is the discovery of a contradiction. Moreover, the second is its resolution. Having defined the concept of negation, the law of negation of negation will be the process of the formation of a new state of Reason. It will be characterized by aggravation of internal contradictions, their resolution and the formation of a new content in the Mind.
The essence of the processes occurring in the Mind
The dialectical law of negation of negation expresses a gradual increase in the complexity of the state by the Reason and its progressive forward movement. Step by step, thinking goes from simple to complex. The law of negation of Hegel's negation is a development of the Absolute Idea. As a result of this, the progression of world reality is its own, internal self-movement, self-improvement of the Absolute Mind. The course of this process is cyclical, that is, it occurs in the same type of phases.
Stages of development of reality
- Thesis. This stage is the formation, the assumption of a certain prevailing reality, its approval as a source.
- Antithesis. This phase is a process of contrasting the original givenness to itself. Its self-denial is manifested in the form of the growth within it of some contradiction, requiring the abolition of the current state and movement to a new one - to its resolution.
- Synthesis. This stage consists in removing, eliminating the internal contradiction of the original. That is, there is a denial of the first denial of givenness due to the formation of a new state.
Harmonious state
Considering the law of negation of negation, one can see that the new state of givenness is formed from the old. At the same time, overcoming the disharmony of any contradiction within is noted. In this regard, the new state is always more harmonious than the one that it denied. If we talk about reason, then harmony in this case will be expressed to a greater extent in proximity to the truth, and if we talk about material processes, it will be closer to the goal set by the Absolute Idea to complete the development of the world.
Development
According to Hegel’s law, development cannot be defined as a sequence of states of reality that grows linearly upward. This process is non-stop due to the continuous formation of contradictions. Therefore, the synthesis stage dialectically goes into the first stage of the thesis. So it starts from the very beginning. Thus, the law of negation of negation is actually a return of reality to its original state, even if in a newer and more perfect quality. In this regard, development occurs in a spiral. A constant return to the initial state after double negation is carried out. Moreover, the initial state will already be at a higher level of development. The progressive path — the orientation toward the higher from the lower — is ensured by greater complexity and harmony in the content of each new stage. This happens due to the fact that denial (according to Hegel) in itself has its own character, not metaphysical. What is its difference? First, in metaphysics, denial is a process of rejection and the complete, final elimination of the former. The contradiction is manifested in the emergence of a new one instead of the old one by replacing the second with the first. Dialectically, denial is the transition of the former to the new with the preservation of all the best that was in the original.
The law of negation of negation in philosophy is the transference of the best
In the process, a continuously expanding spiral is formed, along which reality develops, which constantly finds a contradiction in itself. By this she denies herself, and then denies this very denial by resolving the discovered contradiction. Moreover, at each stage, reality becomes more and more progressive and complicated content. In general, the understanding proceeds from the fact that the former is not completely destroyed by the new, but, while retaining in itself all the best that was available, processing it, raises to a higher, new level. In other words, the law of negation of negation constantly requires different progressive innovations each time. This determines the progressive nature of developing reality.
Summary
The main meaning of the law of negation of negation can be expressed in several provisions:
- A particular contradiction is first discovered by the first negation, and then resolved by the second.
- The result of the process is the destruction of the former and the approval of the new.
- When a new one appears, development does not stop, since every new one that appears does not remain forever frozen. A new contradiction forms in it, a new denial takes place.
- Development manifests itself as countless consecutive contradictions, like an endless continuous replacement, overcoming the lower by the higher, the old by the new.
- Due to the fact that, denying the old, the new not only preserves, but also develops its positive characteristics, development as a whole becomes progressive.
- The process takes place in a spiral, providing for the repetition of individual features and sides of the lower stages in their new higher.
Conclusion
The law of negation of negation, which refers to the idealistic concept of the development of the world, the philosophical movement used to form a materialistic concept. According to Engels and Marx, contradiction is an integral element in the progression of material reality itself. So, for example, the formation of the earth's crust went through several geological periods. Each subsequent era began on the basis of the past. That is, in this case, the new denied the former. Each new species of animal or plant in the organic world arises on the basis of the previous one and, at the same time, is its contradiction (cancellation). In the history of mankind one can also find examples of the operation of the law. So, for example, the primitive system was replaced by the slave system, it, in turn, was supplanted by the feudal system, on the basis of which capitalism subsequently arose, and so on. Denial contributes to the development of knowledge, science, since each new theory is the abolition of the old. However, at the same time, the connection between the new and the previous, the preservation of the best from the old to the new, remains. Thus, for example, higher organisms contradict the lower ones, on the basis of which they arose, nevertheless retained the inherent cellular structure of the lower ones. In general, we can say that the law of negation of negation in materialistic dialectics is considered as the law by which thinking, society, nature, determined by the internal characteristics of matter, develop.