# Ma is here

Miss you is a lie, but Ma Yuan really came 😭

Basic Philosophical Questions#

The basic philosophical question is the problem of the relationship between thought and existence. In simple terms, it is the problem of the relationship between consciousness and matter. It includes two aspects:

The problem of which is the primary between thought and existence: Different answers to this question are the only criterion for distinguishing between materialism and idealism.
The problem of whether thought and existence have identity: that is, whether thought can correctly understand existence.

Unity of the World in Material (Basic Principle of Materialism)#

The true unity of the world lies in its materiality, whether it is the natural world, human society, or human spirit. Although they have different manifestations and characteristics, they all originate from matter. The true unity of the world lies in its materiality, which is mainly manifested in:
(1) Consciousness unified with matter

The origin of consciousness: Consciousness is the product of the long-term development of the material world.
The essence of consciousness: Consciousness is the subjective image of the objective world formed by the human brain.
The role of consciousness: The role of consciousness must be based on respect for the material world.
(2) Human society is also unified with matter
First, human society depends on the natural world and is a part of the entire material world.
Second, although people's practical activities to obtain material resources are guided by consciousness, they are still activities that transform material forces and are still material in nature.
Third, the mode of production of material resources is the foundation of the existence and development of human society, and it embodies the materiality of human society. Productive forces are the material forces that humans use to transform nature, and production relations are the material relations formed in the process of material production that are not subject to human will.
Philosophical significance: The principle that the world is unified in material is the cornerstone of the entire Marxist philosophical system. All the principles of Marxist philosophy are based on this principle. The principle that the world is unified in material is also the philosophical basis for all practical thinking.

Eternal Development of Things#

All things in the world are in a constant state of change, and the world is in a state of eternal development. Development is the universal characteristic of the objective world. As long as we recognize that the world is interconnected, we will inevitably conclude that the world has the objective nature of eternal development. Because development originates from the universal connection of the world, and universal connection is eternal, development is also universal and eternal.
The essence of development is the generation of new things and the extinction of old things. New things refer to things that are in line with the historical direction and have a bright future. Old things refer to things that have lost historical necessity and are gradually dying out.
The development of things is a process, and the development of society is also a process.
Methodology: We must look at problems with a developmental perspective.

Affirmation, Negation, and Transformation in the Development of Things#

Affirmative factors and negative factors
All things contain affirmative factors and negative factors. Affirmative factors are the factors that maintain the existence of existing things, while negative factors are the factors that lead to the extinction of existing things.
Dialectical negation view
Basic content:

Negation is the self-negation of things, the result of the internal contradiction movement of things.
Negation is a link in the development of things. It is the transformation from old things to new things, the leap from old quality to new quality. Only through negation can old things be transformed into new things.
Negation is a link between the connection of new and old things, and new things give birth to old things.
The essence of dialectical negation is "affirmation and negation", that is, new things criticize and inherit old things, overcoming their negative factors and retaining their positive factors.

Law of Negation of Negation
The dialectical development process of things goes through the first negation, which solves the contradiction preliminarily. However, things in the negation stage still have one-sidedness and need to go through another negation, namely the negation of negation, to achieve the unity of opposites and fundamentally resolve the contradiction.
The law of negation of negation requires us to simultaneously see the positive and negative aspects of things when analyzing them. We must adhere to a dialectical view of negation and oppose a metaphysical view of negation. We must oppose the thinking method of metaphysical affirmation and negation everything.

Basic Laws of the Movement of Cognition#

From practice to cognition
The dialectical process of cognition is first a process from practice to cognition. That is, based on practice, sensory cognition leaps to theoretical cognition actively.
Sensory cognition is the phenomenon that people directly perceive about things based on practice, including the external connections of things, the understanding of various aspects of things, including sensation, perception, and representation.
Rational cognition is the cognition of the essence, whole, and internal relationship of things that people process, organize, and summarize based on sensory materials through thinking. Characteristics: indirectness, abstractness, generality. Rational cognition has three forms: concept, judgment, and inference.
Dialectical materialism believes that sensory cognition and rational cognition are dialectically unified, and their unity is based on practice. If the dialectical unity between the two is severed, it will lead to idealism and empiricism. In practical work, it will lead to dogmatism and empiricism.
From cognition to practice
First, the purpose of understanding the world is to transform the world. Second, the truthfulness of cognition can only be tested and developed in practice.
The continuous repetition and infinite development of cognitive movement
(1) The overall process of human cognition development: The repetitiveness and infiniteness of the cognitive process mean that the cognitive process of people is not a closed-loop or linear progress, but a spiral upward movement on a curved line. This movement, in terms of form, is manifested as the repetitive cycle of cognition and practice; in terms of content, each cycle of practice and cognition relatively enters a higher level.
(2) Reasons for the repetitiveness and infiniteness of the cognitive process: First, people's understanding of things is often not completed at once due to the limitations of subjective cognitive abilities and the scope of practical activities. Subjectively, people are always limited by their own cognitive abilities and the scope of practical activities. Objectively, they are limited by scientific and technological conditions, as well as the development and manifestation of objective processes. The essence of objective things has a process of manifestation, and human cognition also needs a process.
(3) The concrete historical unity of subjectivity and objectivity, cognition and practice: The so-called concrete means that subjective cognition must correspond to the objective practice in a certain time, place, and conditions; the so-called historical means that subjective cognition must adapt to the specific historical stage of objective practice.

Practice is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth#

Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. The reason why practice can be the criterion for testing truth is determined by the nature of truth and the characteristics of practice.
First, from the nature of truth, truth is the correct reflection of objective things and their laws of development by human beings. Its nature lies in the correspondence between subjective cognition and objective reality. Testing truth means testing whether subjective cognition corresponds to objective reality and the degree of correspondence. Only those that can connect and communicate subjective cognition with objective things, so that they can be compared, can serve as the criterion for testing truth.
Second, from the characteristics of practice, practice is the objective material activity of human beings to transform the world. It has the characteristics of direct reality and is the main basis for testing truth.

Social existence and social consciousness are dialectically unified. Social existence determines social consciousness, and social consciousness reflects and interacts with social existence.

Social existence is the objective source of the content of social consciousness. Social consciousness is the subjective reflection of the material life process and its conditions.
Social consciousness is the product of people's social material interaction.
With the development of social existence, social consciousness will also change and develop correspondingly, and social consciousness is also concrete and historical.

The relative independence of social consciousness is manifested in:
(1) The incomplete synchronization and imbalance between the development of social consciousness and social existence.
(2) The mutual influence among various forms of social consciousness and their historical inheritance.
(3) The active influence of social consciousness on social existence.

The significance of the dialectical relationship between social existence and social consciousness:
(1) This principle correctly solves the basic problem of social history in the history of human thought and is the basis for the revolutionary transformation of social history.
(2) This principle has important guiding significance for social development, especially social and cultural construction.

The connotation of social formations: Social formations are specific forms, stages of development, and categories of different sanctions about social movements. They are the unity of the economic base and the superstructure that are compatible with the development of productive forces to a certain stage. The fundamental changes and progress of society are achieved through the replacement of social formations.
The unity and diversity of the replacement of social formations: According to the different nature of the relations of production, social history can be divided into five social formations: primitive society, slave society, feudal society, capitalist society, and communist society. The sequential replacement of these five social formations is the general process and law of social history, which shows the unity of the replacement of social formations. However, even within the same social formation, different countries may show different characteristics. Therefore, these reflect the unity and diversity of the replacement of social formations.
The historical inevitability of the replacement of social formations and the historical selectivity of human beings:
(1) The objective inevitability of the replacement of social formations mainly refers to the process and law of the replacement of social formations, which are objective and have a basic trend. The replacement of social formations is ultimately the result of the movement of the basic contradictions of society. Among them, the development of productive forces has the ultimate decisive significance. The regularity of the movement of productive forces and the contradiction between production relations and productive forces fundamentally determine the objective inevitability of the replacement of social formations.
(2) The historical selectivity of human beings includes three aspects: First, the objective inevitability of social development creates a basic scope and possibility for human historical choices. Second, the replacement process of social formations is also a process of subjective initiative and objective regularity. Third, human historical choices ultimately stem from the will and choices of the people. The development of history and the replacement of social formations are ultimately manifested through the will and choices of the people.
The progressiveness and twists and turns of the replacement of social formations: The replacement of social formations also shows the progressiveness and twists and turns of history. The replacement of social formations also shows the progressiveness and twists and turns of history. The unity of sequentiality and transcendence.

Basic Principles of Scientific Socialism#

(1) Organize production on the basis of public ownership of the means of production to meet the needs of all members of society. This is the fundamental purpose of socialist production.
(2) Plan and regulate social production, and implement the principle of distribution according to work, where equal labor receives equal products.
(3) Transform and utilize nature in accordance with natural laws.
(4) The proletarian revolution is the highest form of struggle by the proletariat and must aim to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat.
(5) The socialist cause must adhere to the leadership of the proletarian party.
(6) Through the dictatorship of the proletariat and the high development of socialism, ultimately achieve the transition to communism, which eliminates classes, eliminates exploitation, and realizes the comprehensive and free development of human beings.
On the one hand, the basic principles of scientific socialism should never be violated at any time; on the other hand, the basic principles of scientific socialism should not be treated rigidly and dogmatically in practice.

"Two Inevitables" and "Two Will Nevers"#

Marx and Engels pointed out in the "Communist Manifesto": "The downfall of the bourgeoisie and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable." This is what we often refer to as the "two inevitables" (or "two inevitabilities").
Marx also proposed the "two will nevers" in the "Preface" to "A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy", namely: "No social formation will ever perish before all the productive forces it can accommodate have been developed; and new and higher relations of production will never appear before the material conditions for their existence have matured in the womb of the old society."
The "two inevitables" and the "two will nevers" are internally connected. The former talks about the objective inevitability of the downfall of capitalism and the victory of communism, which is fundamental. The latter talks about the time and conditions for the realization of this inevitability, which warns us that the realization of the "two inevitables" requires corresponding objective conditions, and it will not become a reality until these conditions are met.