Meet The Earliest Dialectic Philosophers

Before we start exploring the depths, extensions, and boundaries of DGB Post-Hegelian Philosophy, I am going to take you back into history to meet some of the most famous Western Dialectical Philosophers (and one or two Eastern ones too) -- philosophers who worked with 'dualisms' and 'dichotomies' and 'debates' and 'paradoxes' and 'bi-polarities' -- all of which we will encompass under the term 'dialectic'.

We will dedicate a 'room' in Hegel's Hotel to every philosopher who I think has added something to the evolution of dialectic philosophy. Come to think of it, this includes everyone in one way or another, either directly by bringing the ideas of 'dualism', and 'dialectic' into their philosophy, and/or by contributing more indirectly to the evolution of the dialectic over time -- such as Plato and Aristotle or Freud and Jung or Freud and Adler complementing each other's work, the 'dialectic whole' being greater than the sum of the individual parts.

So too with Spinoza who is the ultimate of all 'unity-wholists'. However, Spinoza's work makes a good complement to Hegel's work such as through the integrative 'romantic' contribution of Schelling who combined Spinoza and Hegel through the idea of 'dialectical unity and wholism' -- two polar opposites coming together to form an integrative whole. (This echoes Plato's much earlier work in The Symposium where Eryximachus claims that love is the rule of harmony which reconciles opposed elements in the body. Aristophanes takes this one step further and claims the body was originally round with four arms and ears, two faces, etc. The gods, to punish us, split them in two and ever since the halves have sought each other to be reunited in love. -- Derek Johnston, A Brief History of Philosophy, 2006, p. 23-24).

Indeed, Spinoza has been a significant influence on my own philosophical system and process -- again, integratively through previously mentioned ideas like 'dialectical unity' and 'dialectical wholism'. This is the reason for Spinoza's inclusion in a work centring on dialectical philosophy. 'Dialectical philosophy', 'dialectics', and 'multi-dialectics' is the main paradigm that we will be working in for this entire philosophical work -- which is what spawned the idea for, and the name -- Hegel's Hotel.

dgb, Jan. 31st, 2007, updated Sept. 28th, 2007.