The Principle and the Method of the Hegelian Dialectic, Vol. 1: A Defence of the Dialectic Against Its Critics, Being a Thesis A

Excerpt From The Principle And The Method Of The Hegelian Dialectic, Vol. 1: A Defence Of The Dialectic Against Its Critics, Being A Thesis Accepted By The Faculty Of The College Of Letters In The University Of California In Part Fulfilment Of The Requirements For The Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy; The Principle Of The Dialectic HegelS Logic Has Been The Object Of Attack Upon Every Conceivable Ground. Hence No Defence Of It Can Be Circumstantial Without Falling Under The Category Of The False Infinite. Wishing To Keep Out Of That Category, I Have Attempted To Defend The Logic Against Two Objections Only; But These Are The Most Vital Objections, For It Seems To Me That The Most Significant Attacks That Have Been Made Against The Hegelian Dialectic Have Been Attacks Upon The Very Conception Of That Dialectic, Or Attacks Upon The Consistency And Uniformity Of Tin Metftod Which The Dialectic Pursues. Those Who Repudiate The Very Conception Of The Dialectic Take As Their Theme The Impossibility Of Treating Logic As An Organic Science Without The Aid Of Experience; For They Conceive The Hegelian Dialectic As A Science Apart, And Of Course They Have No Very Great Difficulty In Showing The Impossibility Of Such A Science. Those Who Attack The Method Of The Dialectic Generally Try To Convict That Method Of Inconsistency And Vacillation. To Them It Seems To Be Rather A Lack Of Method, A Blind Fumbling And A Grasping Of Whatever Comes Within Reach If, Peradventure, It May Serve The Purpose In Hand. In Accordance With The Desire To Be Brief In My Discussion Of The Subjects Undertaken, I Have Merely Attempted, In Answer To Criticisms Of The First Class, To Show What Was Really HegelS Claim With Regard To The Alleged Presuppositionless Character Of The Logic, What His View Of The Relation Of Logic To Experience, And What His Justification For Beginning The Dialectical Movement Where He Begins It. In Treating The Second Class Of Criticisms, I Have Taken Mr. MctaggartS