Final answer:
Dialectical Materialism is a Marxist philosophy that views material conditions as the foundation of society, driving historical change through dialectical conflicts, such as the class struggles between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dialectical Materialism is a philosophical approach within Marxism that emphasizes the empirical observation of the surrounding reality with minimal emotional interference. It posits that material conditions—primarily economic and social relations—are the foundation upon which society is built and that these conditions drive historical change through the conflict between opposing forces, or the dialectic. This approach replaces Hegel's idealistic dialectic with a materialistic one, as it identifies contradictions within material, real-world phenomena as the primary cause of societal and historical development. The concept was revised by Karl Marx and further elaborated upon by other thinkers, including Joseph Stalin.
The process of dialectical change as seen by Marxists is composed of a thesis (a prevailing idea or order) coming into conflict with an antithesis (a contradictory idea), leading to a synthesis (a resolution that incorporates elements of both the thesis and antithesis). This synthesis then becomes a new thesis, giving rise to another antithesis, and the process continues. According to Marx, this is evident in the historical class struggles, leading to the prognosis that the proletariat would eventually overthrow the bourgeoisie, bringing an end to capitalism and ushering in a socialist state.