HEGEL, FORMAL LOGIC AND DIALECTIC

“To evaluate Hegel’s logic against the conventional standards of formal logic begs the question. For Hegel is asking about the grounds of all logical validity.” 
–Burbidge, On Hegel’s Logic: Fragments of a Commentary (1981)


What seems clear to me, in regards to dialectics, is that the demand for formal justification is a loaded demand. In other words, one is being asked to squeeze an ocean into an acorn. Of course, dialectics cannot be contained within the formal presuppositions of logic, precisely because dialectics transcends the limitations of formalism; how then could dialectic be expected to justify itself within the confines of formalism? Can one deduce science from the presuppositions of religion? I think not. To demand the reverse of science in the case of religion, would be to level a loaded demand against science, entirely in favor of the primitive. It's the old world's desperate attempt to kill off the authority of the new. It's no different in the case of dialectics. Men fear the loss of their power, through the loss of the narrow logical medium, they have come to know so well. Why change it and risk losing mastery of a form that works against the majority of the species? The answer, of course, is because one is trying to get at something more than social power or recognition, one is trying to get at reality!


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