The second great development of human knowledge is that relating to living organisms.
“In this field there is such a multiplicity of interrelationships and causal connections that not only does the solution of each problem give rise to a host of other problems, but each separate problem can in most cases only be solved piecemeal, through a series of investigations which often require centuries; besides, the need for a systematic presentation of interconnections constantly makes it necessary to surround the final and ultimate truths with a luxuriant growth of hypotheses again and again. What a long series of intermediaries from Galen to Malpighi was necessary for correctly establishing such a simple matter as the circulation of the blood in mammals, how little do we know about the origin of blood corpuscles, and how numerous are the missing links even today, for example, in the establishment of rational relationship between the symptoms of a disease and its causes!” (p 110-11)
And, again, here, science has confirmed Engels' argument. In doing so, it has revolutionised that knowledge, and speeded up the pace at which that knowledge is acquired. It has been facilitated by all those other developments in science and technology in other spheres, themselves, often accelerated by the requirement of capitalism to replace labour with technology, and to reduce the costs of production, so as to raise productivity, and maximise profits, as the capitalistic form of the operation of The Law of Value. The development of more powerful microscopes enabled bacteria and viruses to be identified, as well as the way they invade the cells of other organisms, causing disease. The development of X-Rays enabled the examination of the inside of bodies, which has been further extended by the development of MRI and CAT scanners to give 3D images of organs etc. DNA and RNA were discovered and their molecular structure identified, and then, more recently, computer technology enabled the genome to be decoded. Now, AI makes possible the use of big data to identify patterns and connections that would be impossible for human analysts to discern.
The third department of human knowledge is that relating to society, its history and social relations, giving rise to laws and institutions, “with their ideal superstructure in the shape of philosophy, religion, art, etc.” (p 111) Here, it is even more difficult to determine absolute or eternal truths.
“In organic nature we are at least dealing with a succession of processes which, so far as our immediate observation is concerned, recur with fair regularity within very wide limits. Organic species have on the whole remained unchanged since the time of Aristotle. In social history, however, the repetition of conditions is the exception and not the rule, once we pass beyond the primitive state of man, the so-called Stone Age; and when such repetitions occur, they never arise under exactly the same circumstances.” (p 111)
One commonality that reproduced itself for a long time was the common ownership of land. Engels also says that another commonality was the way it was dissolved. The latter, however, is not true. The dissolution of common ownership, and its replacement by private property, as a result of some internal processes, is the same across Europe, but, even in Scotland and Ireland, where clan ownership persisted for a long-time, the real cause of dissolution arises from external forces, i.e. the role of British colonialism. The same is true of common ownership in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Australasia.
“In the sphere of human history our knowledge is therefore even more backward than in the realm of biology.” (p 111)
No comments:
Post a Comment