School #21

Dialectical Materialism

Marx, Engels

Dialectical Materialism, a Marxist concept, views reality as a dynamic and contradictory process driven by material conditions and class struggles.

I. Time

Extent Infinite
Ontological Status Substantival
Grain Continuous
Freedom Deterministic
Traversability Linear
Dimensionality One
Direction Uni-directional

Time is substantival and infinite — it is the real medium in which the dialectical development of material reality unfolds. History moves through time via the dialectical process: thesis, antithesis, synthesis. Time is continuous, linear, and deterministic in the sense that historical development follows necessary laws of material contradiction and resolution.

II. Space

Extent Finite
Ontological Status Substantival
Curvature Flat
Dimensionality Three
Locality Local

Space is substantival, finite, and flat — it is the real, material environment in which social relations of production are organized. Space is local and three-dimensional: material conditions and class structures are always concretely situated in particular places. The spatial organization of production shapes all aspects of social life.

III. Matter

Extent Finite
Ontological Status Substantival
Conservation Conserved
Dimensionality Three
Locality Local

Matter is substantival and finite — it is the fundamental reality from which all phenomena arise through dialectical interaction. Matter is conserved and local: material conditions are the base on which all superstructure (law, culture, ideology) rests. The dialectical laws of nature — the unity and struggle of opposites, the transformation of quantity into quality — govern all material processes.

IV. Observer

Time Instance Single
Space Instance Single
Extent of Knowledge Immediate
Retainment of Knowledge Total
Physicality Embodied
Agency Active
Number Plural
Time Instance: Single — the observer is embedded in a specific historical moment shaped by material and class conditions
Space Instance: Single — the observer is situated within specific material conditions and social relations of production
Extent of Knowledge: Immediate — the observer's knowledge is shaped by their class position and material circumstances; class consciousness can evolve through struggle and praxis
Retainment of Knowledge: Total — through the accumulation of class consciousness and historical materialism, knowledge builds collectively toward a complete understanding of social and material relations

V. Energy

Extent Finite
Ontological Status Substantival
Conservation Conserved
Dispersibility Irreversible

Energy is substantival and finite — it is a real, material quantity governed by natural law. Conservation is strict: the dialectical transformation of matter and energy follows necessary physical laws. Dispersibility is irreversible, reflecting the directional development of material processes through dialectical contradictions.

VI. Information

Ontological Status Emergent
Conservation Conserved
Granularity Continuous

Information is an emergent property of material processes — it arises from the dialectical interactions of matter in motion.

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