Had an argument where someone tried to tell me historical materialism is “necessarily true” and therefore not scientific or useful. Only response I can think of is that dialectical materialism is a philosophical framework, and isn’t subject to the same rules of falsification as a hypothesis. It feels somehow unsatisfying.

Have any of you encountered this argument before? What do you say to it?

  • @KommandoGZD
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    2 years ago

    Well why would “x is necessarily true” mean “x is not scientific or useful”? I don’t see how especially the latter follows from the proposition. If anything wouldn’t DiaMat being necessarily true especially necessitate humans using it in all of their analysis?

    If something is a necessary fact of life it would be nonsensical not to use it.

    • @NikkiBOP
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      82 years ago

      Sure, but Marxism is supposed to be scientific, right? Don’t our theories need to be falsifiable as a rule?

      • @xanthespark
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        32 years ago

        Is the proposition that every scientific hypothesis or system needs to be falsifiable itself falsifiable?

        • Muad'DibberA
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          32 years ago

          That’s what popper claims separates science from non-scientific disciplines.

          Saying “there is a god” isn’t scientific because you can’t disprove it.

          Saying, “everyone in the world is wearing a white shirt” is, because you could observe that being false. It puts the focus on real life, testable phenomena.

    • @ComradeChairmanKGB
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      62 years ago

      It’s just some JP shit, back when he started his bullshit career he went around trying to redefine truth and some idiots fell for it.