Philosophical Content of the Problem of Being: The Dialectic of Being

Being as General Connection and Interaction: The Idea of Development

In observing the real world, we note that everything is in a state of development, interconnection, and interaction. Nothing in the world exists in isolation. Hence, it is no coincidence that philosophy has developed the principle of interconnectedness (coherence), which underlies the conclusion that all forms of being manifest through a common connection. The content of the principle of coherence is enriched by the concept of interaction, which enables the examination of the processes through which different phenomena in the world influence one another, allowing us to investigate their mutual conditioning. Interaction, like interconnectedness, is characterized by complexity, depending on the level of structural organization within the world. Thus, at the level of inanimate nature, the primary forms of interaction are gravitational and electromagnetic, while at the level of living nature, they are energetic and informational. Only through the interaction of objects can we reveal their essence, their qualitative determinacy, and their development. Both the principle of interconnectedness and the principle of interaction affirm that no phenomenon in the world can be explained in isolation; it reveals its essence, source, mechanism, and direction of development solely through the elucidation of its connections and the fundamental forms of its interaction with other phenomena.

In the philosophical analysis of the interconnections and interactions of various phenomena and processes in the world, it is essential to focus on the category of "development." Development consists of irreversible, directed, and lawful changes that lead to the emergence of new qualities. For example, the flight of an arrow demonstrates motion, while the growth of a stalk of grain exemplifies development. The irreversibility of development signifies that in the process of change, the possibility of returning to a previous quality is already excluded. Each state is experienced only once. Embedded within this irreversibility is the directionality of development, which indicates that changes accumulate, determined by the type of interaction between the phenomenon in question and other phenomena, as well as the resolution of its internal contradictions. Development is characterized by lawfulness. This characteristic implies that the basis of development consists not of random events, but of processes dictated by the very essence of the phenomenon. Therefore, every phenomenon naturally undergoes its stages of development, the necessity of which is grounded in the phenomenon itself, even though it is realized through a confluence of random circumstances. The aforementioned characteristics of development are oriented towards the emergence of new quality. Ascending development represents movement towards perfection, that is, progress, while regressive development signifies a path of decay—regress. An essential condition for the realization of development is time, which underlies the principle of historicism, directing research towards the necessity of examining any phenomenon, taking into account its origins, the stages it has traversed in its development, the meanings it has acquired, and the forms it has assumed. The principle of development in time emphasizes the necessity of viewing a phenomenon through the lens of the unity of its past, present, and probable future.

The general theory of the development of all that exists, which adequately reflects its evolution in its laws, categories, and principles, is dialectics. The most important requirements or principles of the dialectical approach to analyzing reality are, first, the comprehensiveness of analysis; second, the study of objects in development and self-motion; third, the inclusion of all moments provided by practice into the complete definition of the object; and fourth, a concrete-historical approach, that is, consideration of the conditions of time and place, connections, and relationships in which the subject exists at a given time. Dialectics, as a general theory of development, provides a key to understanding its essence, reflecting real processes in nature, society, and thought as they exist in reality. Since the entire surrounding world is in motion, change, and development, dialectics inevitably must arise from this generality. It reproduces in thought all processes of reality in a generalized form, accounting for their contradictions, changes, fluidity, inter-conversions, and the emergence of the new. Thus, dialectics possesses a categorical apparatus, laws, and principles that adequately reflect changes and inter-conversions in thought. In our fast-paced time, the need for non-standard thinking, flexibility, and the mobility of concepts that can mirror the very dynamism of objective reality is more urgent than ever. Dialectics, as the logic of thought, fully meets these contemporary demands.