Torsion & Tension [Chapter 5 and Epilogue, PDF Download]

I finally returned to copy-editing the final chapter and epilogue of Torsion & Tension; this will be the last entry in the series. As noted before, one of the main reasons I did not wish to pursue this project any further was because of my use of simple [propositional] logic symbology to represent some aspects of dialectical logic: not because the symbolization was simple (I wanted it to be as simple as possible so as to avoid obfuscation) but because, since it can be nothing more than an analogy, it doesn't really work. Even though I mentioned this multiple times in the text, the fact that we are dealing with two different logics––and thus two different senses of "contradiction"––means that maybe I should have avoided pseudo-formalizing the unity of opposites rather than just paying lip service to the fact that it was a "model".

There are some things in this chapter, though, that I enjoyed rereading and that lurk beneath some of the other things I have been writing since. First of all, there is the discussion of how a mode of production is comprised of a unity of opposites: I could have taken this further, even, then simply looking at the opposites formed by the dominant class dynamic and also looked at some of the other tensions/torsions that underlie a given mode or production. Secondly, the epilogue begins by noting some of the other contradictions that concern historical materialism: I noticed that some of these contradictions, particularly continuity and rupture, are dealt with in my upcoming book, Continuity and Rupture … In retrospect, maybe I should have edited in a footnote plug of some sort.

So here's the contents so far. Click on Chapter Five / Epilogue to download the final part of the series.

Introduction
Chapter One: The Meaning of Dialectical Materialism
Chapter Two: Dialectical Logic Defined
Chapter Three: Pseudo-dialectics
Chapter Four: Unity of Opposites
Chapter Five: The Fundamental Contradiction of Dialectical Materialism
Epilogue