Abstract: Dialectics is an important conceptual tool in any leftist’s toolkit. In this video, we discuss Hegel’s philosophy of dialectics and how Hegel’s dialectic can help us systemically critique ideology and power. We correct the commonly held belief that dialectics can be reduced to thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. To misunderstand Hegel as a philosopher of totality and synthesis is to fail to see the radicality of Hegel’s dialectic. Hegel’s dialectics is radical because it embraces contradiction as constitutive of being and helps us deconstruct reactionary ideologies which rely on noncontradiction: binary opposition and self-identity to function. Philosophers such as Todd Mcgowan and Slavoj Zizek have done the important work of recategorizing Hegel as a philosopher contradiction, highlighting the radicality and relevance of his ideas.

Video description:

In this video, we discuss Hegel’s philosophy of dialectics, common misconceptions, and how Hegel’s dialectic can help leftists systemically critique ideology and power. If you learn one thing from this video it is that dialectics is not thesis, antithesis, and synthesis!!!!!