Tag Archives: Heraclitus

Dialectical monism in Heraclitus

In the antique Western world, dialectical monism appears not much widespread. But we notably find an elaborate form of dialectical monism in Heraclitus. Several fragments of the philosophy of Heraclitus reflect the expression of this unity that results from the joint presence of two dual principles. For example, the Eigth Fragment:

What opposes unites, and the finest attunement stems from things bearing in opposite directions, and all things come about by strife.

and also the Tenth Fragment:

Things grasped together: things whole, things not whole; being brought together, being separated; consonant, dissonant. Out of all things one thing, out of one thing all things.

Here we find the expression of dialectical monism , through the union of opposites . We see how the dialectic proceeds from the union of opposites : the consonant and dissonant . This dialectical approach that underpins the philosophy of Heraclitus is also illustrated in Fragment 51:

They do not understand how, while differing from it is in agreement with itself. There is a back turning connection, like that of a bow or a lyre.

Ambiguous images ▣ Arbitrary focus ▣ Bistable perception ▣ Complementarity relationship ▣ Conflict resolution ▣ Conflict resolution with matrices of concepts ▣ Conflict types relating to matrices of concepts ▣ Contrary relationship ▣ Courage ▣ Dialectical contextualism ▣ Dialectical monism ▣ Dialectical monism in Aztec philosophy ▣ Dialectical monism in Heraclitus ▣ Dichotomic analysis ▣ Dichotomic analysis applied to paradox resolution ▣ Dichotomous reasoning ▣ Disqualification of one pole ▣ Disqualification of the positive ▣ Doctrine of the mean ▣ Doomsday argument ▣ Dualities ▣ Dual poles ▣ Extreme opposition ▣ General cognitive distortions ▣ Instance of one-sidedness bias ▣ Liar paradox ▣ Matrix of concepts ▣ Maximization ▣ Mental filter ▣ Minimization ▣ Bistable cognition ▣ Omission of the neutral ▣ One-sidedness bias ▣ One-sided viewpoint ▣ Opposition relationship ▣ Principle of dialectical indifference ▣ Requalification into the other pole ▣ Reference class ▣ Reference class problem ▣ Reference class problem in philosophical paradoxes ▣ Reference class problem in the Doomsday argument ▣ Reference class problem in Hempel’s paradox ▣ Reference class problem in the surprise examination paradox ▣ Selective abstraction ▣ Sorites paradox ▣ Specific cognitive distortions ▣ Surprise examination paradox ▣ System of taxa ▣ Two-sided viewpoint ▣ Viewpoint of a duality ▣ Viewpoint of a pole

How to Make a Dialectical Plan

My course (duration: 3h20) entitled “How to make a dialectical plan” is online on Udemy.

The course is a pedagogical and practical version of the notions contained in my articles On a Class of Concepts and The Dialectical Plan: For an Alternative to the Paradigm, published in the journal Semiotica. It is a step-by-step method, with exercises, to learn how to make a dialectical plan, using matrices of concepts.

A version of this course in French language is also available.

Glossary

Ambiguous images ▣ Arbitrary focus ▣ Bistable perception ▣ Complementarity relationship ▣ Conflict resolution ▣ Conflict resolution with matrices of concepts ▣ Conflict types relating to matrices of concepts ▣ Contrary relationship ▣ Courage ▣ Dialectical contextualism ▣ Dialectical monism ▣ Dialectical monism in Aztec philosophy ▣ Dialectical monism in Heraclitus ▣ Dichotomic analysis ▣ Dichotomic analysis applied to paradox resolution ▣ Dichotomous reasoning ▣ Disqualification of one pole ▣ Disqualification of the positive ▣ Doctrine of the mean ▣ Doomsday argument ▣ Dualities ▣ Dual poles ▣ Extreme opposition ▣ General cognitive distortions ▣ Instance of one-sidedness bias ▣ Liar paradox ▣ Matrix of concepts ▣ Maximization ▣ Mental filter ▣ Minimization ▣ Bistable cognition ▣ Omission of the neutral ▣ One-sidedness bias ▣ One-sided viewpoint ▣ Opposition relationship ▣ Principle of dialectical indifference ▣ Requalification into the other pole ▣ Reference class ▣ Reference class problem ▣ Reference class problem in philosophical paradoxes ▣ Reference class problem in the Doomsday argument ▣ Reference class problem in Hempel’s paradox ▣ Reference class problem in the surprise examination paradox ▣ Selective abstraction ▣ Sorites paradox ▣ Specific cognitive distortions ▣ Surprise examination paradox ▣ System of taxa ▣ Two-sided viewpoint ▣ Viewpoint of a duality ▣ Viewpoint of a pole