Dialectics as a Relational Logic of Life: From Linear Ascent to Spiral Circulation

This work redefines dialectics as a relational and generative process rather than a linear logic of synthesis. It proposes a spiral model of dialectical movement grounded in the circulation of generativity, relation, and provisional form. Highlights • Reinterprets dialectics as an ontological movement rather than a purely logical method• Introduces Circular Dialectics structured through Φ–G–S circulation• Distinguishes linear ascent from spiral circulation in dialectical processes• Bridges Western structural articulation and Japanese relational fusion• Connects dialectics to resonance dynamics in physical generative systems Description This paper reconsiders the meaning of dialectics by situating it within a broader ontology of life. Rather than treating dialectics as a purely logical method for resolving contradictions, the study proposes that dialectics expresses a deeper relational movement through which generativity, mediation, and provisional form continuously transform into one another. The historical trajectory of Western dialectics is first examined as a predominantly “linear” model of ascent. From classical Greek dialogue to modern rationalism, dialectical thought increasingly operated within a particle-oriented framework, where difference is clarified, structured, and stabilized into conceptual form. This trajectory culminates in the philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, where contradiction becomes the motor of development but still tends toward directional progression and conceptual closure. In contrast, Japanese cultural practices reveal a largely non-verbal mode of dialectical operation characterized by coexistence, relational attunement, and the preservation of indeterminacy. This “wave-oriented” orientation does not seek definitive synthesis but sustains the continuity of relations through subtle transformation. While Western dialectics excels in structural articulation, Japanese fusion-oriented practices preserve generativity and relational continuity. Bringing these traditions into dialogue, the paper proposes a model of circular dialectics structured around three recurrent phases: generativity (Φ), relational mediation (G), and provisional crystallization (S). Although described as circular, its movement is more accurately understood as spiral rather than closed, since each recurrence transforms the conditions of the next, making the process historically and ontologically irreversible. The deeper structure of this model mirrors resonance dynamics found in generative physical systems, where fields, relations, and temporary forms continuously give rise to one another. Dialectics, in this sense, is not merely a method of thought but a philosophical articulation of the generative rhythm of being itself. This reconceptualization allows dialectics to function as a common ontological principle across philosophy, physics, ecology, society, and economy. Dialectics becomes a relational logic of life—one that sustains movement without closure and form without fixation—offering an alternative to both rigid structuralism and formless flux. Author’s Related Works Ohumi, K. (2025). Manifesto of the Life OS: The "It from Wave" Philosophy. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18106437 Ohumi, K. (2025). A Sampling-Theoretic Reinterpretation of Quantum Uncertainty and Wave Function Collapse. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18004579 Ohumi, K. (2025). Observation as Operational Crystallization: Resolving Quantum Paradoxes. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18220191 Ohumi, K. (2025). It from Wave: Phase Propagation as Physical Basis of Information. 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