"Philosophy blog 2" Response

     The first step to forming a worldview is to take a position on theology. One begins this step by deciding whether or not there is a God. Those who believe in God's existence adhere to theism, while "atheism" denies the existence of God and prefers to rely on the physical world (typically) for finding truth. Two similar atheistic philosophies are Naturalism and Dialectical Materialism. Despite their similarities, however, Naturalism and Dialectical Materialism do have important differences that qualify them as separate philosophies for two different worldviews--Secular Humanism and Marxism, respectively.
     The base of Secular Humanism's philosophy, Naturalism, states that reality is composed solely of matter and that all phenomena can be explained in terms of natural causes, such as the law of gravity. Humanist Manifesto II puts its this way: "Nature may indeed be broader and deeper than we now know; any new discoveries, however, will but enlarge our knowledge of the natural" (Noebel 101). Naturalism utterly denies the existence of the supernatural realm; to the Naturalist, a Designer/Creator-God is nonexistent and quite a ridiculous concept that gets in the way of truly understanding the Universe scientifically. Science must be applied to all areas of life, "including the social and the moral" (Noebel 104). Finally, Naturalism views human progress as a process of evolution, in which we are constantly progressing towards a higher consciousness (Noebel 105). Evolution also applies to the rest of the Universe, which, according to Naturalism, is constantly in a state of changing (Noebel 103). Essentially, Naturalism is Man's method of using science to explain how the world, and (on a more personal level) how human minds and progress, work.
     While Naturalism tries to explain the workings of life in the world, Dialectical Materialism is "the Marxist-Leninist approach to understanding and changing the world" (Noebel 107). The goal of Dialectical Materialism not only attempts to explain how the world works, then, but is also a kind of "instruction manual" to bring about Mankind's progress (not just describing how Man can change through evolution, like Naturalism does). "Dialectical Materialism itself is the belief that in everything there is a thesis (the way things are) and an antithesis (an opposition to the way things are), which must inevitably clash. The result of the struggle and merging that comes from the clash is the synthesis, which becomes the new thesis. A simpler example of this is like a hammer striking a nail (the clash of thesis and antithesis), resulting in a new thesis (the struck nail), before being pulled back for another blow (building a new antithesis). This new thesis will eventually attract another antithesis, and produce a new synthesis" (Noebel 109). Marxists use Dialectical Materialism to explain the gigantic series of clashes they believe history is composed of, such as the class struggle (Proletariat v. Bourgeoisie). The concept of the clashes between theses and antitheses, then, creates a hopeless world where the definition of "progress" (endless clashes) is impossible to attain. Therefore, Dialectical Materialism also denies the existence of the supernatural through its hold on their epistemology, which is highly influenced by Marxist dialectics because Marxists use dialectics to replace metaphysics in the field of philosophy. Dialectical Materialism, then, basically adds another layer to Naturalism. While Naturalism's main ideas revolve around evolution, Dialectical Materialism's focus on the thesis-antithesis clash emphasizes "evolution and revolution" (Noebel 112), and as a painful struggle rather than painless progress. Furthermore, "[w]hile many philosophies are chiefly theoretical, Marxism is concerned with theory and practice" (Noebel 112). That is, Marxism's Dialectic Materialism puts its adherents in a position that forces them to put out the actions that inspire revolution and evolutionary struggle, rather than just passively "surviving" change, as is the case with Naturalism. Indeed, Dialectical Materialism's major difference with Naturalism is its violent sense of progress.
     The differences between Naturalism and Dialectical Materialism lie in the ways they define "change" for each of their worldviews. Naturalism simply seeks to explain life scientifically by introducing progress through Mankind's evolution, whereas Dialectical Materialism demands that both evolution and social change in general must be brought about by an endless series of struggles, or a clashes, between a thesis its antithesis. In conclusion, both of these worldviews place Man in a dark universe with neither purpose nor a bright future. By throwing God out of reality, both Naturalism and Dialectical Materialism simply make each person a piece of flesh whose only purpose is to live until dying, and nothing more than that--an utterly pointless existence.