Dialectics of Nature

work by Engels

Also known as: “Dialektik und Natur”

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June 25, 2026

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The "Dialectics of Nature" is an unfinished work by Friedrich Engels that explores the application of dialectical materialism to the natural sciences. Dialectical materialism, a philosophy developed by Karl Marx and Engels, posits that the material world is primary and constantly changing through a process of conflict and resolution.123

Engels applied this concept to nature, suggesting that natural phenomena, like all reality, are in a continuous state of change and development. He believed that understanding these dialectical processes was key to comprehending the natural world. While the work was never completed, it significantly influenced the development of Marxist thought and its interpretation of science.31

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Marxism
The contributions of Engels
…work, Dialektik und Natur (Dialectics of Nature), which he had begun around 1875–76. The importance of these writings to the subsequent development of Marxism can be seen from Lenin’s observation that Engels “developed, in a clear and often polemical style, the most general scientific questions and the different phenomena…
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…work, Dialektik und Natur (Dialectics of Nature), which he had begun around 1875–76. The importance of these writings to the subsequent development of Marxism can be seen from Lenin’s observation that Engels “developed, in a clear and often polemical style, the most general scientific questions and the different phenomena…
Read More