Practical Materialism: Its Contemporary Value and Innovative Significance
March 2017
Author: Sun Zhengyu, senior professor at Jilin University
Any major theoretical problem originates from a major practical problem, and any major practical problem contains major theoretical problems. Revealing the major theoretical problems contained in major practical problems, and condensing and sublimating major theoretical problems into iconic philosophical concepts, thereby highlighting their significance as the “essence of the spirit of the times” is the primary pursuit of philosophy in every era.
In May 2016, Xi Jinping pointed out at the symposium on philosophy and social sciences: “We must be good at refining iconic concepts.” “Practical materialism” is the iconic philosophical concept extracted by contemporary China’s Marxist philosophy from major practical problems in contemporary China. In-depth elaboration of the rich connotation of practical materialism and the philosophical path it has expanded is not only a theoretical prerequisite for more consciously moving along this philosophical path, but also a major issue related to letting the world understand “China in philosophy.” Addressing about 150 people, most of whom are leading figures in philosophy, history, Marxism and economics, Xi Jinping called for “more independent and innovative theories and ideas” that will take root from China’s reality.
Practical materialism is a philosophical summary of “real history”
The historic starting point of contemporary China’s reform and opening up was the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee held in 1978. This plenary session restored our party’s ideological line with the distinctive characteristics of emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts.
The philosophical basis of this ideological line is to establish practice as the only criterion for testing truth; the practical significance of this ideological line is to liberate people from the shackles of “leftist” thinking and open up a path for building socialism with Chinese characteristics.
It is in this profound ideological revolution and practical change that contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophy has assumed a dual mission of complementing each other: to realize the conceptual innovation of philosophy itself in promoting social change, and to promote social change in the conceptual innovation of philosophy itself. It is in the theoretical exploration of undertaking this dual mission that contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophy takes Marx’s “new world view” of “changing the world” as its foothold, and takes the “practical materialism” proposed by Marx and Engels as its soul and basis, forming the philosophical concept of practical materialism, and on this basis, expanding the path of contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophy.
Re-understanding and interpreting Marxist philosophy from the perspective of practice, and summarizing the Marxist philosophical revolution and the philosophical path it has opened up with practical materialism, not only concerns the problem of the interpretation path of Marxist philosophy and the question of “what to call” Marxist philosophy, but also concentrates on the fundamental understanding of Marxist philosophy and profoundly shows how Marxist philosophy should be enriched and developed in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Starting from the standpoint of practical materialism, we can scientifically answer a series of major theoretical and practical questions:
Does Marxist philosophy view the relationship between man and the world from the perspective of practice or from the perspective of the “objective or intuitive form” of old materialism and the “abstract” and “dynamic” perspective of idealism?
Is Marxist philosophy a “developing theory” confirmed by Engels, or a “dogma that must be memorized and mechanically repeated” denied by Engels? Does Marxist philosophy develop continuously “in human practice and in the understanding of this practice”, or does it develop without “human practice” and “understanding of this practice”?
Should China’s modernization be based on the independence and self-reliance of the Chinese people, or should it copy the “Western model” of modernization?
These are major practical problems facing contemporary China and the contemporary world, and they are also major theoretical problems that contemporary China and the contemporary world must solve. This shows that practical materialism, with practice as its core category, is not a random innovation, but a philosophical summary of “real history” and a theoretical sublimation of the spirit of the times. This inevitably requires re-understanding and interpreting Marxist philosophy from a practical perspective, and using this as a theoretical basis to promote the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics and shape and guide the new spirit of the times.
Practical materialism has achieved a transformation in philosophical concepts and theories
The fundamental explanatory principle of practical materialism is to regard philosophy as a theory “about the relationship between man and the world”, and to reinterpret the “new world outlook” of Marxist philosophy, thereby systematically and profoundly realizing the transformation of philosophical concepts and theories.
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