ON COMPREHENDING THE DIALECTICAL NATURE OF REALITY

"The concrete in thinking also appears, according to Marx's definition, in the form of combination (synthesis) of numerous definitions. A logically coherent system of definition is precisely that 'natural' form in which concrete truth is realized in thought. Each of the definitions forming part of the system naturally reflects only a part, a fragment, an element, an aspect of the concrete reality -- and that is why it is abstract if taken by itself, separately from other definitions. In other words, the concrete is realized in thinking through the abstract, through its own opposite, and is impossible without it." E. V. Ilyenkov, The Dialectics of the Abstract and the Concrete in Marx's Capital, pg.37 Aakar Books 2013 

To be stuck in the "fragment" (to mistake it for the totality) is both the beginning and end of juvenile thinkers. Such a methodology seals the fate of all those who utilize it. The concrete is realized by thinking through the abstract, not stopping at it as a comprehensive representation of reality. One must take reality as it is, not try to force it into an idealistic mold.

The isolation of fragments from their authentic unity is what has hitherto made up man's view of the world. But the point of comprehending is to comprehend the fragments of reality in their interconnected unity. Without this (more comprehensive purview) man will continually distort the world around him. He will not only be deceived, but he will also become a deceiver. 

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