Principles of Dialectical Materialism and Historical Materialism

Author: Li Xiulin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: The textbook presented to readers is the fifth edition of Principles of Dialectical Materialism and Historical Materialism (abbreviated as Principles). Since its first publication in 1982, Principles has been widely welcomed for its clear perspectives, highlighted key points, and well-structured layers. From the first to the fourth edition, Principles has sold 10 million copies, playing its due role in the teaching and promotion of Marxist philosophy, which also demonstrates its vitality and social value.
However, since the publication of the fourth edition of Principles in 1995, new achievements in natural and social sciences, as well as new developments and experiences in Marxist philosophy research and teaching, have shown that the content and structure of Principles still need further improvement and refinement. Some important theoretical issues require in-depth elaboration and supplementation, and pressing issues need thorough discussion and proper handling, especially the integration of dialectical materialism and historical materialism should be fully reflected.
Moreover, over the nine years since the publication of the fourth edition of Principles, significant changes have occurred both domestically and internationally. Internationally, the world has entered a new historical stage characterized by technological informatization, economic globalization, and diversified political structures. Domestically, China's socialist practice has also entered a new historical period, with the initial establishment of a socialist market economy system, the proposal of the historical task of building a socialist political civilization, and the adoption of people-centered and scientific development concepts, which have raised a series of new issues and provided a broad space for thinking. Marxist philosophy is not an "academic" discipline; it should and must focus on reality and engage in "dialogue" with it, thereby summarizing and reflecting new problems raised by new practices in a philosophical way. This is an important task of Marxist philosophy textbooks. Therefore, we have decided to revise Principles once again and present this fifth edition to readers.
The fifth edition of Principles still names Marxist philosophy as dialectical materialism and historical materialism. However, dialectical materialism and historical materialism are not two different "isms," but rather the same "ism"—dialectical materialism that includes a historical perspective. The term "dialectical materialism" is used to highlight the dialectical dimension and its critical and revolutionary nature inherent in Marx's materialism, as dialectics "contains the negation of the existing things within the affirmation of them." Alongside "dialectical materialism," "historical materialism" is added to name Marxist philosophy to emphasize the historical dimension and its thoroughness and completeness inherent in Marx's materialism, as the completeness and comprehensiveness of Marx's materialism are concentrated in historical materialism. "And since history has also been interpreted in a materialist way, a new path of development has been opened up here." At the same time, the fifth edition of Principles integrates the concept of practice throughout dialectical materialism and historical materialism. The concept of practice is the primary and fundamental viewpoint of dialectical materialism and historical materialism. From the history of philosophy, the reason Marx was able to launch a revolution that shook the history of human thought lies in his establishment of a scientific concept of practice and his correct resolution of the relationship between humans and nature, as well as humans and society, thereby achieving the unification of materialism and dialectics, and materialist naturalism and historical materialism. In this sense, Marxist philosophy is also practical materialism. The term "practical materialism" is used to highlight the practical dimension and its primacy and fundamentality inherent in Marx's materialism. However, practical materialism and dialectical materialism (historical materialism) are not two different philosophical forms, but rather different expressions of the same philosophical form—Marxist philosophy. Marx's materialism emphasizes changing the world, and practical activity itself is "negative dialectics," and all social life is essentially practical. In Marxist philosophy, the scientific concept of practice is organically combined with the "rational form" of dialectics and materialist historical materialism. Marxist philosophy is a theoretical system based on the scientific concept of practice, integrating materialism and dialectics, materialist naturalism and historical materialism into "integration." Striving to comprehensively and scientifically elaborate practice and the relationship between humans and the world, and systematically and accurately explain the basic viewpoints of Marxist philosophy, is the guiding principle the fifth edition of Principles.
The scientific and teaching systems of Marxist philosophy have both connections and distinctions. The teaching system focuses on explaining the basic viewpoints of the discipline, which must be based on the scientific system of the discipline while also conforming to the laws of cognitive and educational psychology. When compiling the fifth edition of Principles, we took this into consideration and strived to design a Marxist philosophy teaching system that is based on the scientific system of Marxist philosophy while also conforming to the laws of cognitive and educational psychology. Therefore, the fifth edition of Principles has made new arrangements for the structure of the teaching system of Marxist philosophy and strives to reflect the spiritual essence of Marxist philosophy, explain its basic viewpoints, and reproduce Marxist philosophy as the essence of the spirit of the times through this new structure.
The task of any textbook is to explain the basic viewpoints of the discipline. Philosophy and Marxist philosophy textbooks are no exception. However, the basic viewpoints of Marxist philosophy themselves are not fixed and unchanging but are continuously enriched, supplemented, and deepened with the development of practice and scientific progress. At the same time, people's understanding of the basic viewpoints of Marxist philosophy is also an ongoing process. Accordingly, the fifth edition of Principles has handled relevant issues as follows:
First, for some basic viewpoints that have become "common sense," such as the unity of matter, determinism, and reflection theory, new content should be presented in conjunction with the latest achievements of contemporary science. Therefore, the fifth edition of Principles has added content such as the hierarchical and isomorphic nature of material forms, the relationship between things and the relationship of "existence for me," and the relationship between cognition and virtuality.
Second, some viewpoints are originally basic viewpoints of Marxist philosophy, but for various reasons, they were not addressed or given sufficient attention in original Marxist philosophy textbooks. To this end, the fifth edition of Principles has added content in this regard, such as practice as the mode of human existence, institutionalized interaction relationships, and the alienation and sublation of humans.
Third, some viewpoints have been discussed by classical thinkers but have not been fully elaborated or argued in detail, while the development of contemporary practice and science has increasingly highlighted these issues, making them pressing "hot" issues that urgently need to be resolved. For such viewpoints, in-depth exploration, full elaboration, and detailed argumentation should be conducted based on contemporary practice and science, making them mature, perfect, and rise to become basic viewpoints of Marxist philosophy. To this end, the fifth edition of Principles has added content such as traditional culture and social modernization, and the role and significance of non-rational factors in cognition.
Fourth, some viewpoints are originally basic viewpoints of Marxist philosophy and remain so, but with the differentiation of disciplines, these viewpoints have been differentiated from philosophy and have become important content of other disciplines, such as the theory of class, state, and revolution, which have become part of political science. For such viewpoints, the fifth edition of Principles does not list a separate chapter to elaborate them in detail but only touches upon them in relevant chapters. This is mainly to adapt to the differentiation of disciplines, not to say these viewpoints are unimportant. In fact, the content of any discipline must go through a process from uncertainty to certainty, and after certainty, it must continue to be adjusted. The positioning of the fifth edition of Principles remains a textbook for liberal arts in higher education, suitable for all liberal arts majors, including philosophy. At the same time, during the compilation process, we have fully considered the newly promulgated Basic Requirements for General Higher Education Two Courses·Principles of Marxist Philosophy by the Ministry of Education in 2002 and strived to integrate the two. Without a doubt, Marxist philosophy textbooks must be close to teachers and students and adapt to teaching practice. However, this adaptation is not simple but rather improvement within adaptation and guidance within improvement. Therefore, the fifth edition of Principles strives to stand on the basis of contemporary practice and, within the possible scope, absorb new achievements in philosophical research and scientific development. Philosophy is not just knowledge but more importantly wisdom—a wisdom of life, reflection, and critique. Marxist philosophy textbooks cannot merely impart "knowledge" or simply adapt to teaching but more importantly, they should inspire students' reflective attitudes and critical spirit, thereby broadening theoretical horizons, elevating theoretical awareness, and achieving self-transcendence and self-development.