The law of negation of negation: essence, concept and examples

Negation in logic is called the act of refuting any statement that does not correspond to reality. At the same time this act takes place in a new thesis. The law of denial of negation briefly represents the emergence of something new, abolishing, and then replacing the old. When did you apply this provision? What is the law of negation of negation? Examples and explanations will be given later in the article.

general information

When something new occurs, the old one is canceled. Thus, the reality of the former is denied by the fact of the existence of the new. Who was the first to use this term? This law was first applied by Hegel. With his help, the thinker explained the cyclical nature of the development of reality. Since reality itself is the activity of the Absolute Idea itself, and hence of the Absolute Reason:

• First of all, if the Idea carries out something, then it is reasonable. Consequently, its activity refers to its source to Reason.
• The idea, secondly, is not material. From this it follows that any action refers to the Mind not only by source, but by its nature as a whole.

The nature of the activity of any Mind

The fulfillment of anything by any Mind, the Absolute, including, consists in the complete denial (permanent abolition) of each existing state by the next state following it. The new is born in the form of a mature internal contradiction. How does the law of negation of negation manifest itself? The essence of the internal contradiction ripening in Mind and abolishing the present state is that this phenomenon represents the abolition of the definition, concept or thought that has just been proposed and approved. Now he has to give up this because of his own inner movement of thinking. This state - the emergence of the inner contradiction of Reason to Self - the first of its negation. Thus, the first manifestation of something new is happening. The contradiction emerging in Reason is nothing but an internal rejection of the old content. At the same time, there is a certain need for thinking activity. This work should be aimed at understanding and solving the situation that has arisen.

Further activity of Reason

Above was an example of the manifestation of the first negation. This process further stimulates and pushes to resolution all that it manifests. The work of thinking is carried out quite actively to remove the emerging contradiction. To resolve the situation, he has to form a new content of Reason, which would abolish the old - where the contradiction was exacerbated. After the state is resolved sooner or later and will be eliminated, a new content and state of Reason will appear. Thus, the law of double negation will work - the cancellation of the first refusal. As a result, there is an escalation of internal contradiction. From this follows the conclusion that the first negation is the discovery of a contradiction. The second is his permission. Having defined the concept of negation, the law of negating negation will be the process of formation of a new state in the Reason. It will be characterized by exacerbations of internal contradictions, their resolution and the formation of new content in the Reason.

The essence of the processes occurring in Reason

The dialectical law of denying negation expresses the gradual increase in the Mind of the complexity of its state and the fulfillment of its forward movement. Step by step, thinking goes from simple to complex. The law of negating Hegel's negation is the development of the Absolute Idea. As a consequence, the progression of world reality is a personal, inner self-movement, self-improvement of the Absolute Reason. The flow of this process is cyclic, that is, it occurs in the same phase.

Stages of development of reality

1. Thesis. This stage is a formation, the assumption of some existing reality, its assertion as the initial one.
2. Antithesis. This phase is a process of opposing the original givenness to itself. Its self-denial manifests itself in the form of the growth within it of some contradiction, which demands the abolition of the present state and the movement toward a new state-to its resolution.
3. Synthesis. This stage consists in removing, eliminating the internal contradiction of the original. That is, there is a denial of the first denial of the given due to the formation of a new state.

Harmonious state

Considering the law of negating negation, one can see that the new state of the given is formed from the old. It is noted that overcoming the disharmony of any internal contradiction. In this regard, the new state is always more harmonious than the one it denied. If we are talking about reason, then harmony in this case will be expressed more in proximity to truth, and if we talk about material processes, then in approaching the goal that the Absolute Idea puts in the completion of the development of the world.

Development

According to Hegel's law, development can not be defined as a certain sequence of states of reality, which increases linearly upward. This process is non-stop because of the continuous formation of contradictions. Therefore, the synthesis stage dialectically passes to the first stage of the thesis. So it all starts from the very beginning. Thus, the law of negating negation is in fact a return of reality to its original state, albeit even in a newer and more perfect quality. In this connection, the development takes place in a spiral. A constant return to the initial state after double negation is carried out. In this case, the initial state will already be at a higher level of development. Progressive path - the direction to the higher from the lowest - is provided by greater complexity, harmony of the content of each new stage. This happens in view of the fact that denial itself (according to Hegel) has its own character, not metaphysical. What is its difference? First, in metaphysics, denial is the process of rejection and the complete, final elimination of the former. The contradiction is manifested in the appearance of a new one in place of the old by replacing the latter with the former. Dialectically, denial is the transition of the former into the new, with the preservation of all the best that was in the original.

The law of denial of negation in philosophy is the transfer of the best

In the process, a continuously expanding spiral is formed, along which reality develops, constantly revealing a contradiction within itself. In this way, it denies itself, and then denies this very negation by resolving the revealed contradiction. At each stage, reality acquires an increasingly progressive and more complicated content. On the whole, understanding proceeds from the premise that the former is not destroyed completely new, but, while retaining in itself all the best that was available, processing it, raises it to a higher, new stage. In other words, the law of negating negation constantly requires different progressive innovations each time. This determines the progressing nature of the developing reality.

Results

The main meaning of the law of negating negation can be expressed in several terms:

1. A contradiction is first discovered by the first negation, and then resolved by the second.
2. The result of the process is the destruction of the former and the approval of a new one.
3. With the advent of a new development does not cease, because any emerging new does not remain forever frozen. It forms a new contradiction, a new negation occurs.
4. Development manifests itself as an innumerable number of contradictions following one after another, as an endless continuous replacement, the overcoming of the lower by the higher, the old by the new.
5. In connection with the fact that, while denying the old, the new not only preserves, but also develops its positive characteristics, development as a whole becomes progressive.
6. The process takes place in a spiral, envisaging the repetition of certain features and sides of the lower stages in their new higher stages.

Conclusion

The law of denial of negation, which refers to the idealistic conception of the development of the world, used philosophical currents to form a materialistic concept. In the opinion of Engels and Marx, the contradiction is an inalienable element of the progress of the material reality itself. So, for example, the formation of the earth's crust passed through several geological periods. Each subsequent era began on the basis of the past. That is, in this case, the new denied the former. Each new kind of animal or plant in the organic world arises on the basis of the previous one and at the same time is its contradiction (cancellation). In the history of mankind, you can also find examples of the operation of the law. For example, the slave-owning system replaced the primitive system, in its turn, the feudal one was supplanted, on the basis of which capitalism subsequently emerged and so on. Negation contributes to the development of knowledge, science, because each new theory is the abolition of the old. However, together with this, the connection between the new and the previous is preserved, the preservation of the best from the old in the new. So, for example, higher organisms contradict the lower ones, on the basis of which they arose, nevertheless preserved the inherent in the lower cellular structure. In general, it can be said that the law of denial of negation in materialistic dialectics is regarded as the law by which thinking, society, nature is determined, determined by the internal characteristics of matter.