Dialectical Materialism and Science

In its senile decay, capitalism has become mired in a myriad of economic, social, and political crises. One consequence of this has been a loss of trust in traditional institutions. This has led to historic unpopularity of governments, political parties, and capitalism generally. Skepticism of the existing system has had its impact on science as well. Vaccine hesitancy, conspiracy theories like the flat Earth, and occult ideas have risen in popularity. 

Scientists are not immune to the pressures reflected in the rising mysticism in society. Philosophical idealism has gained purchase in science, leading to dead ends and crises. Recent observations have put strains on the standard model of cosmology. While in particle physics the pursuit of theories beyond the standard model have hit dead ends. 

This talk will explain the Marxist theory of knowledge to show what dialectical materialism can tell us about the universe, and answer questions like: How does science work? And what is the way forward for science today?

This discussion will be introduced by Jarrett Brown, a leading member of the RCA in New York City.

Reading list:

Books

• Anti-Dühring, Through Part One – Friedrich Engels
• Reason in Revolt – Ted Grant & Alan Woods

Articles

• Dialectical Materialism and Science – Leon Trotsky
• Scientific revolution and materialist philosophy – Ben Curry
• The crisis in science: progress, stagnation, and revolution – Adam Booth
• New Scientist vs. Reality – Joe Attard
• The James Webb telescope: an eye onto the universe infinite in time and space – David García Colín and Vincent Angerer

Videos

• Philosophy and Science: A New Era in Cosmology – Ben Curry
• The Marxist theory of knowledge: how do we know things? – Daniel Morley

Additional Reading

• On the Significance of Militant Materialism – V.I. Lenin
• What is truth? – Alan Woods