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Crafting a Holistic Scientific Dialectic Nathan Neill Department of Biology; College of Arts and Sciences Abilene Christian University

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Crafting a Holistic Scientific Dialectic Nathan Neill Department of Biology; College of Arts and Sciences Abilene Christian University Ideology: Scientific Dialectic Dialogue & Nexus | Fall 2015-Spring 2016 |Volume 3 Revolution in Ideology: Crafting a Holistic Scientific Dialectic Nathan Neill Department of Biology; College of Arts and Sciences Abilene Christian University Ideology drives scientific research far more than is acknowledged. Since science itself is conducted by individuals, each scientist has a biased conception of themselves and their surroundings relative to the rest of the universe, even if it is never explicated. This sense of relation to the greater universe is what defines the ideology of the individual. It is this sense of relation and self that creates the individual, who goes on to investigate the natural world by the scientific method. In this paper I will examine extant scientific ideology, particularly in Western science, and propose changes that could be helpful. The actions and consciousness of an Leninist dialectical materialism adopted by individual are inseparable from that the Cuban state in the wake of the 26th of individual’s ideology. Ideology itself, July Movement. Dialectical materialism also especially as it relates to science, is a had a strong positive effect on the nebulous concept. Western culture development of science in the Soviet proclaims the scientific method to be a Union.1 The principles of dialectical ruthlessly objective process, so how can it materialism outlined by Lenin, especially be ideological? The scientific process das Andere seiner (the contradictory nature becomes ideological because it is of phenomena), the negation of the negation, necessarily conducted by individuals and and the universal interconnectedness2 have groups of scientists. Each one of these particularly profound implications on the scientists has a conception of themselves philosophy and praxis of science. These and their surroundings relative to the rest of implications include a holistic view of the universe, even if it is never explicated. ecology and biomedical research that is This sense of relation to the greater universe entirely at odds with popular Western is what defines the ideology of the reductionist ideology. Furthermore, individual. This sense of relation and self dialectical materialism, although it is a creates the individual, who goes on to philosophical fundament of Marxist investigate the natural world by the materialism, may have the potential to unite scientific method. The examination of Christian theology with a scientific dialectic, ideology, although largely ignored in although it clashes harshly with traditional Western science, is a crucial prerequisite Christian views of humans having a special step of scientific methodology. However, place in the universe. Marxist-Leninist this is not the case in all cultures. dialectical materialism is an ideology that is capable of revolutionizing the epistemology, Dialectical Materialism and Science methodology, and real-world implications of For example, planned scientific scientific thought. development for a sustainable future in Cuba is a result of the principles of Marxist- 1 Graham, 1987. 2 Lenin, 1927. Dialogue & Nexus | Fall 2015-Spring 2016 |Volume 3 1 Ideology: Scientific Dialectic Dialogue & Nexus | Fall 2015-Spring 2016 |Volume 3 History and Explanation of Dialectical biology.5 He also significantly expanded on Materialsm the concept of the union of analysis and The evolution of dialectical synthesis, which will be discussed later in materialism must be detailed further before the context of mathematical philosophy. its scientific implications can be discussed. Lenin is a remarkably influential figure in It began with Hegel, a German idealist. He the history of dialectical materialism, and wrote that dialectics govern the development not just for his academic work in of spirit, but did not apply it to Nature or epistemology and dialectics. As the face of Society. Then comes Karl Marx, who is the Bolshevik Revolution and Marxism- credited with “inverting” Hegelianism by Leninism, his writings on dialectical applying dialectical materialism to political materialism were perhaps the strongest economy and the development of society. ideological influence on the formation of the Engels provides three main points that U.S.S.R. (until Stalin wrote Dialectical and define dialectical materialism: the law of Historical Materialism in 1938), as well as unity and conflict of opposites, the law of being an archetype for future Marxist passage of quantitative changes into revolutionaries such as Fidel Castro and Che qualitative changes, and the law of negation Guevara. His work on the unity of of the negation.3 As it concerns the relation opposites6 sets the stage for a holistic of society to the individual, Gyӧrgy Lukács ecological dialectic. Several of the most of the Budapest School provides a useful radical and revolutionary philosophical working definition: “the premise of minds in history dedicated their entire lives dialectical materialism is … not men’s to developing dialectical materialism (as a consciousness that determines their component of Marxist thought). It is a existence, but, on the contrary, their social multifaceted and rich ideology, and the existence that determines their stages of evolution it underwent in space consciousness.… Only when the core of and time is a testament to the ideal itself. It existence stands revealed as a social process is an ideology based in interconnectedness, can existence be seen as the product, albeit in processes instead of the immediacy of the hitherto unconscious product, of human things, and in conflicting but unified forces. activity.”4 Lukács’s basic assertion is that An understanding of its relevant stages of the individual is the product of their social development sets the stage for scientific existence. This creates a point of epistemology and application. intersection with scientific methodology, because scientific experimentation is the Applying Dialectical Materialism to product of scientists, who are themselves Science products of cultural processes. It is essential The ideology of dialectical to question the underlying ideology that materialism is well-suited to be an drives modern science and to examine how epistemological foundation in the world of dialectical materialism might change the modern science. Marx’s dialectical method direction of scientific thought. Vladimir is based upon a conception of Nature as a Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution, unified whole that is in perpetual motion.7 is responsible for the first extension of This is evident when one considers the dialectical thought into evolutionary natural selection among populations and the 3 Engels, 1940. 6 Ibid. 4 Lukács, 1971, p. 76. 7 Stalin, 1940. 5 Op. cit. ref. 2 Dialogue & Nexus | Fall 2015-Spring 2016 |Volume 3 2 Ideology: Scientific Dialectic Dialogue & Nexus | Fall 2015-Spring 2016 |Volume 3 interaction of that natural selection with the created before mankind had the technology surrounding environment. There is a great for modern scientific experimentation, but deal of evidence for a reciprocal the march of scientific progress reveals its codetermination between organism and astonishing capacity to understand and environment.8 Organisms within a describe the world. Science describes a population can outperform other organisms world that is deeply interconnected, a within the same population because of unified world in perpetual motion, and a genetic favorability that happens to be world that affirms the epistemological advantageous in their environment. These assumptions of dialectical materialism. organisms who are better suited for the Closer inspection proves that this environment in which they live are more foundational idea of Marxist-Leninist likely to reproduce and succeed from a thought is incredibly effective as an biological standpoint, which can slowly ideological basis in science as well. drive genes at a population level. However, this is only one side of the process. Just as Application to Ecology and Conservation an organism is meaningful within context of Biology its environment, the environment itself is Dialectical materialism is defined by the physical structures and the particularly useful as a scientific ideology in organisms it contains. This is an example of the fields of ecology and conservation the concept of Nature as a unified whole. biology. Although ecology is traditionally The perpetual motion of the universe and the investigated as a field separate from contradictory nature of phenomena are sociology and class structures, to make the closely related to this idea. Organisms and distinction between ecology and sociology is populations are constantly reforming and to limit the scope of ecological changing their own environment. They understanding. Although studying ecological necessarily need to consume and produce to problems involves predicting naturally survive. This creates a dialectic of occurring disasters, it is much more production and consumption that perpetuates important to be able to predict and the environment itself. For example, there is understand causal relationships between a baseline atmospheric oxygen content sociological and geopolitical forces and the (approximately 18%) that is required for natural world. Environmental degradation terrestrial species to survive and reproduce. does not just take the form of obvious Animal populations continuously consume catastrophes such as the British Petroleum this atmospheric oxygen that is necessary for Deepwater Horizon oil
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