Podcast

In this talk, Alan Woods outlines the history of philosophical ideas, and how they have laid the basis for philosophy of Marxism – dialectical materialism.

Is there such a thing as good and evil? Who decides, and why? Why is there so much suffering and cruelty in our society, and how can we end this? Daniel Morley will discuss all of these questions in the final episode of the series.

What is causation? Is the universe determined and predictable? And where does that leave humanity, with its notions of free will and moral responsibility? And how does this affect our role as revolutionaries?

Thought is inherently about generalisation and universals. It takes us beyond the immediacy of the here and now, and links things. This contradiction – between part and whole, individual and type – is at the heart of philosophy’s deepest problems.

How does matter move itself? How and why does development take place in nature? Daniel Morley will answer all of these questions in this week’s episode of the ABCs of Marxist philosophy.

Marxist logic is dialectical, not formal. That means its starting point is change and contradiction – all truths become untruths because all that exists will perish. But how do we use logic to understand change? How do things change?

Logic is usually seen as a dry, boring discipline suitable only for pedants. This is because it is traditionally seen as having no relation to the real world of objects, and is instead a self-contained system of rules for thought. Marxism completely rejects this formalism and seeks to find the basis for our logic in this real world.

In the third part of this series on Marxist philosophy, Daniel Morley talks about the Marxist view on human nature.

In the second part of this series on Marxist philosophy, Daniel Morley talks about the nature of knowledge.