The Principles of Philosophy 5010010968

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STUDENT'S LIBRARY

Anatoly

R~kitov

The PrinciPles of Philosophy Translated by H. Campbell Creighton, M.A. (Oxon)

PROGRESS PUBLISHERS MOSCOW

Student's Library Editorial Board: F. M. Volkov (Managing Editor), E. F. Gubsky (Deputy Managing Editor), V. G. Afanasiev, I. S. Kon, I. M. Krivoguz, Reza Munis, A. V. Petrovsky, Yu. N. Popov, N. V. Romanovsky, Marta Shuare, Ibrahim Taufik, V. A. Tumanov, !man Zafar, A. G. Zdravomyslov, V. D. Zotov

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English translation of the revised Russian text Publishers 1989

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Progress

Printed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics p 0302020000-238 18 - 89 · 014(01)-89

ISBN 5-01-001096-8

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CONTENTS

32101 014914202

How to Use This Book Introduction . . . What Is Philosophy .

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Who Needs Philosophy? And Why? . 001 Man in the Modern World- 9. 002 "The Intellectual Quintessence of Its Time"- 10. 003 Philosophy and World Outlook- 12. 004 Philosophy and the General Methodology of Activity and Cognition- 13. 005 Philosophy and Ideology - 16. 006 The Main Task of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy - 20. The Basic Question. The Subject-Matter and Method of Philosophy . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 007 The Basic Question of Philosophy - 22. 008 The ' First Aspect of the Basic Question of Philosophy. Idealism and Materialism - 24. 009 A Dialogue of a Materialist and an Idealist- 26. 010 The Second Aspect of the Basic Question of Philosophy - 30. 011 A Dialogue about the Knowability of the World- 31. 012 The Method of Philosophy; the Preliminary Concept of Dialectics and Metaphysics- 34. 013 The Subject-Matter of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy- 36. 014 The Principle of Partisanship in Philosophy - 37. The Origin and Development of Philosophy . . . . . . . 015 The Philosophy of Antiquity- 39. 016 The Philosophy of the Orient- 41. 017 The Philosophy of the Middle Ages- 42. 018 The Philosophy and Culture of the Renaissance - 43. 019 The Philosophy of Bourgeois Society - 44. 020 The Philosophical, Social, and Scientific Prerequisites of Marxian Philosophy - 46. 021 The Rise of Dialectical Materialism: a Radical Turn in the Development of Philosophy- 49. 022 A New Stage in the Development of Marxist Philosophy - 51.

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Chapter I Matter and Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . Matter and the Picture· of the World . . . . . . . . • . 101 Notion and Category- 56. 102 What Is Matter?57. 103 How Views of Matter Developed.- 59. 104 The Contemporary Scientific Picture of the World- 62. 105 The Material Unity of the World- 65. 106 System, Structure, Element- 65. 107 Necessity and Chance68. 108 Laws of the Objective World- 70.

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Motion, Time and Space 109 Matter and Motion- 74. 110 Dialogue on Motion and Rest- 76. I I I Form and Content- 77. I I 2 The Forms of the Motion of Matter- 79. I 13 Time and Space 8 I. I 14 The Irreconcilability of the Idealist and Materialist Conceptions of Time and Space- 82. 115 Modern Scientific Notions of Time and Space- 84. I 16 Cause and Effect - 85. Reflection as a General Property of Matter . I 17 The Basic Question of Philosophy in the "Computer Age"- 88. I 18 What Is Reflection?- 89. 119 Reflection in the Inorganic World- 90. 120 The Complication of Reflection during the Transition to Animate Nature- 92. 121 The Evolution of Life and Origin of the Nervous System - 93. I 22 Active and Passive Reflection of Reality - 95. I 23 The Psychic and the Physical, the Ideal and the Material - 97. Human Consciousness . I 24 The Brain as the Material Organ of Mental Activity - I 0 l. 125 Work as the Basis of Consciousness I 02. I 26 Language and Thought - I 04. 127 On the Relative Character of the Opposition of Matter and Consciousness - 106. 128 Can Computers Think? - 108. 129 Some Conclusions. The Synthesising Function of Philosophy 111.

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Chapter II Social Being and Social Consciousness . The Materialist Conception of Society and Its History . 201 A Talk about the Idealist and Materialist Conceptions of Society- I 14. 202 Man and Activity. Preconditions for the Materialist Conception of History- I 16. 203 The Development of Society &s a Natural-Historical Process118. 204 The Mode of Production as the Basis of the Development and Functio11ing of Society - I 20. 205 Basis and Superstructure- 125. 206 Classes and Class Struggle- 127. 207 The State in the System of the Superstructure- 130. 208 Political Parties in the System of the Superstructure- 134. 209 Social Organisations in the System of the Superstructure- 137. 210 Social Being and Social Consciousness- 139. 21 I The Basic Principle of Historical Materialism- 142. The Theory of Socio-Economic Formation . 212 The Individual, Particular, and Universal- 144. 213 What Is a Socio-Economic Formation?- 146. 214 Social Revolution- 148. 215 The Structure of a Social Revolution- 149. 216 The Forming of Human Society151. 217 The Primitive Communal Formation- 152. 218 The Slave-Owning Formation- 154. 219 The Feudal Formation- 156. 220 The Capitalist Formation- !58. 221 The Communist Formation- I 61. 222 The Category "Socio-Economic Formation" and Historical Reality- 164.

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The Functions and Forms of Social Consciousness . 223 Social Consciousness and the Development of Society- 166. 224 Ideology in the System of Social Consciousness- 168. 225 Social Psychology and Everyday Consciousness - 170. 226 Political Consciousness and Politics- 172. 227 Legal Consciousness and Law- 174. 228 Morality as a Form of Social Consciousness- 176. 229 Economic Consciousness - 179. 230 Religion as a Form of Social Consciousness - 181. 231 Artistic Consciousness and Art- 183. 232 Individual and Social Consciousness187. 233 On the Relative Independence of Social Consciousness- 189. 234 Growth of the Role of the Subjective Factor under Socialism - 192.

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Chapter III Nature and Society . On the Relationship of Nature and Society . 301 Nature and Society- 196. 302 Dialogue about Nature and Society- 198. 303 Pre-Marxian Views on Nature and Society- 201. 304 Dialectical Materialism on the Relation of Nature and Society- 203. The Environment. The Biological and Social in Social Developmem 305 The Structure of the Environment - 205. 306 Mankind and the Natural Environment- 206. 307 The Biological and Social in Man- 209. 308 Races and Nations- 211. 309 The Role of Population in the Development of Society- 216. 310 The Artificial Habitat- 220. Nature and Society in the Age of Scientific and Technological Progress 311 What Is Scientific and Technological Progress or the Scientific and Technical Revolution? - 222. 312 Scientific and Technical Progress and Its Consequences under Capitalism and Socialism- 226. 313 Ecological Consciousness and Ideological Struggle- 230.

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Chapter IV The Main Laws of Dialectics . The Sources of Development . 401 The Idea of Development- 234. 402 What Is the Source of Development? - 237. 403 The Categories of "Opposition" and "Contradiction"- 239. 404 The Unity and Mutual Conversion of Opposites- 241. 405 The Struggle of Opposites and Resolution of Contradictions: the Source of Development - 244. 406 Forms of Contradictions- 247. 407 The Resolution of Contradictions in Socialist Society- 252. 408 The Law of the Unity and Struggle of Opposites: the Essence and Core of Dialectics 255. Forms of Development . 409 On the Form of Development- 257. 410 A Dialogue about the Continuous and Intermittent, the Gradual and Sudden in the Process of Development- 257. 411 Quantity,

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Quality, Measu~e, and Leap·- 260. 412 Evolution and Revolution- 263. 413. The Dialectic Connection between Quantitative and Qualitative Changes- 266. 414 The Law of the Transition of Quantitative Changes into· Qualitative, and Vice Versa- 270. 415 Quantitative and Qualitative Changes in the Structure of the Socialist Revolution- 271. 416 The Dialectic of Quantity and Quality in the Present Stage of the Development of Socialism - 274. The Direction of Development . 417 A Dialogue on the Direction of Development - 277. 418 The Spiral-Like Character of Development - 278. 419 Dialectical Negation and Continuity -- 279. 420 Possibility and Actuality - 283. 421 The Dialectic of the Possible and the Real in a Revolutionary Situation - 285. 422 What Is Social Progress'/ - 286. 423 The Dialectical Law of the Negation of Negation- 289. Chapter

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The Theory of Know:ledge . 291 The Dialectics of' Knowing . 29 l 501 What Does It Mean to Know? -- 291. 502 Cognition as Reflection - 293. 503 A TalJ... about the Sources of Knowledge -· 294. 504 The Role of Sensation in Knowing - 298. 505 The Role of Abstraction in Knowing. The Method of the Ascent from the Abstract to the Concrete - 300. 506 The Epistemological Roots of Idealism - 304. 507 What Is Truth? - 305. 508 The Role of Practice in Knowing - 309. 509 Appearance and Essence. The Dialectics of Knowing- 311. The Forms and Methods of Scientific Cognition . 314 510 Theory and Hypothesis- 314. 511 Experiment and Observation in Scientific Cognition - 318. 512 Certain General Scientific Methods of Cognition- 320. 513 Models and Modelling in Scieniific Cognition - 326. 514 The Application of Mathematics and Modern Science- 327. 515 Science and Society~ 329. Chapter VI Man and Society 601 A Chat on the Essence of Man and the Sen.~e of Life 333. 602 Freedom and Necessity- 338. 603 The Role of the Individual and of the Masses in the Development and Life of Society - 342. 604 The Individual and the Masses in Socialist Society - 346. 605 Socialist Democracy and Communist Education - 348. 606 Acceleration of SocioEconomic Progress. Reorganisation (Perestroika) and the Human Factor- 351. 607 The Road to a New Civilisation - 353. 608 The Struggle for Peace and the Destiny of Humankind - 356. 609 Predicting the Future - 359. A Last Chat with the Reader .

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How to Use This Book

The structure of this book permits the student to read and master its matter in varying order according to the aims and purposes he or she is pursuing. The introduction "What Is Philosophy?" provides basic information about philosophy, its subject-matter and methods, the main points that distinguish it from other disciplines, and its place in the system of Marxism-Leninism. This chapter also contains information on the origin and various stages in the evolution of philosophy, and singles out the main matters that will subsequently be discussed. These problems will be treated in more detail in the following chapters, the material being arranged in order of increasing difficulty. Each of the successive chapters depends on the preceding ones. For the reader's better assimilation of the proofs and arguments by which the superiority of materialism over idealism, of dialectics over metaphysics, and of Marxist-Leninist philosophy over other philosophical schools and currents is demonstrated, the text includes dialogues and talks between imaginary persons who express different points of view. These dialogues should be read and studied as attentively as the basic text. The main propositions, definitions, and questions are explained and discussed several times throughout all the chapters. This is done so as to promote better assimilation of the material. Many of these propositions and questions, moreover, are linked with different themes and cannot be properly and fully assimilated from a single discussion. Ideology and ideological struggle are discussed, for example, in the Introduction, and in Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 6; the principles of partisanship in philosophy, of the materiality and knowability of the world, development and evolution, and the revolutionary transformation of society are treated and discussed in all chapters, but the space devoted to them in the different chapters varies: the principie of development, for instance, is highlighted in Chapter 4, the principle of the 7

knowability of the world in Chapter 5, and 'so on. There is no special chapter devoted to the categories of dialectical materialism, but that does not mean that no attention is paid to them. The most important philosophical categories, such as "matter", "consciousness", "cause", "necessity", "social being", "social consciousness", "freedom", and "law", are treated in detail in the appropriate chapters in connection with the discussion of one philosophic problem or another. All the chapters have an index number from 0 (Introduction) to 6 (the conCluding chapter). Each chapter is broken down in short sections, which are given a three-digit number, e. g., 001, 311, 506, etc. The first digit is the number of the chapter, the other two the number of the section within the chapter. Number 001, for instance, signifies·' the first section of the Introduction, 311 the eleventh section of Chapter 3, and 506 the sixth section of Chapter 5. Sections linked by a common theme are grouped together under a common heading. In all sections there are cross-references to others that· ·contain information needed for good assimilation of the material being studied. These cross-references have a three-digit number (enclosed in brackets). When the reader~meets a cross-reference (506) or (311), he or she shOuld turn to~ section 6 of Chapter 5 or· section 11 of Chapter 3. When a cross-reference is given by several numbers, the content of several sections should be looked at, with special attention' to the places indicated in the text. Cross-references are given both to preceding and succeeding sections, which makes it easier to bring out the inner connections between' the various departments of Marxist-Leninist philosophy, and helps its inner unity to be seen. The system of cross-references facilitates both work on the~ text and consistent reading, making it easy to fix material read, but not yet adequately assimilated, quickly in the memory. It also helps understand the link of the studied section. with the following· sections and divisions of th'e book. Observance of these instructions is a sine qua non for mastering the principles of Marxist-Leninist philosophy set out in the text.

INTRODUCTION ,q

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? '}

{

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Who Needs Philosophy? And Why? 001 Man in the Modern World

We live in a complex, rapidly changing world. During this century alone there have been two world wars. The once single system of' capitalism broke apart. Socialism, which first became reality in the USSR, became a world system. A community of states that are building socialism has been formed. A big group of developing countries emancipated from colonial dependence and following their own road of development has appeared. Between the different social and economic systems there are complex relations and contradictions, the deepest of which is that between capitalism and socialism, which determines the nature of our age as one of transition from capitalism to socialism and communism. At the same time there is unprecedented scientific and technological advance in the world. Man has broken out into outer space and is penetrating deeper and deeper into the secrets of nature. In all ages man has been faced with the question of his place in the world, and of what is the aim, purpose, and value of human life. In our nuclear age these questions are posed with great sharpness, especially that of the prospects for the human race. Each of us has sometime or other had to ask oneself how to cope with the acute problems and contradictions of our time. How, for example, to employ the advances of science and technology for the good of man? And what, precisely, is the "good of man"?

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No conscious, active person can avoid trying to find answers to such questions. But neither science nor technology in themselves can provide them. The point, however, does not lie in finding answers that will be good once and for all, and to memorise them. lt is much more important to master how to find such in our rapidly changing modern world, to know how to check whether they are correct, and to learn to act in accordance with them. This knowledge is provided by a special discipline, and that discipline is philosophy. 002 "The Intellectual Quintessence of Its Time'' Philosophy arose in Ancient Greece. In Greek the word means "love of wisdom". But in our day we give "philosophy" another sense and meaning. What is it? There are many different philosophical schools and trends. One of them is that of Marxism-Leninism, which embodies everything of value that has been created in the 2500 years of the development of philosophy. In order to understand what philosophy is, one needs, first of all, to clarify how the founders of Marxism-Leninism understood it. Here is how Karl Marx explained it. Since every true philosophy is the intellectual quintessence of its time, the time must come when philosophy not only internally by its content, but also externally through its form, comes into contact and interaction with the real world of its day. Philosophy then ceases to be a particular system in relation to other particular systems, it becomes philosophy in general in relation to the world, it becomes the philosophy of the contemporary world. 1

The word "quintessence" in this quotation must be understood as "principle" or "essence". Marx thus distinguished philosophy as the system of knowledge of reality as a whole, i. e., as speciai knowledge of the world around us. This world consists of nature and society. Other systems of knowledge, for example ordinary knowledge based on everyday experience, political, scientific, technical knowledge, etc., reflect separate aspects of reality and are needed in order to cope with quite definite

1 Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. Collected Works, Vol. l, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1975, p. 195.

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matters ansmg in everyday life, in industry, in political struggle, in the course of cognising nature, and so on. At the same time, each age, and each period in the history of mankind, has raised tasks· and problems that touch on the most radical problems of life, and on whose solution the fate of humanity as a whole, and the fate of each individual, depend. It is quite difficult to understand and be aware of these· problems, which reflect the fundamental interests of a nation, and to formulate them correctly. It is even more difficult to point out the correct ways and means of tackling them. To do so calls for very deep knowledge of the achievements of various sciences, an ability to understand the fundamental interests of the nation and of the masses of working people, and to formulate the distinguishing features and peculiarities of the age correctly. A special system of knowledge is clearly needed for that, a system that differs from all others in treating reality as a whole rather than its separate aspects and problems, that is to say, in coming "into contact ... with the real world of its day", at the centre of which, moreover, stands man and all his aspirations and strivings, hopes, doubts, and questions, all his inner contradictions, and his discoveries and delusions. Philosophy, consequently, as the "intellectual quintessence of its ttme", and as "the philosophy of the contemporary world", is a special system of knowledge of man's place in the world and his attitude to tlze world around him. It seeks to know the foundation of man's activities and the laws that govern them. As we see, the tasks facing philosophy are very complex. Only a welltrained professional philosopher can develop profound, serious philosophical knowledge, but this knowledge· can only play the role of the intellectual quintessence of the modern world provided that, in expressing the fundamental interests of its age, it can become the property of each and everyone, and be mastered and made the basis of conscious, purposive activity. How is philosophical knowledge mastered by the broad masses? How does it influence their life and activity? In order to answer those questions, we must clarify the interconnection of philosophy and world outlook. 11

003 Philosophy' and World Outlook How do you spend a free evening? Going to a football match? Or watching television? Or reading an interesting novel? Or visiting friends and chatting with them? When one decides on these one is guided by the mood of the moment, habits or possibilities. But there are also problems in life that call for convictions, a broad view of the world, and a clear understanding of the aims and sense of human life in order to answer them. The aggregate of basic convictions, views of the world, of its structure and origin, of the meaning and purpose of human life and of the place of man in contemporary reality, is known as one's world outlook. In developing a theory of man's attitude to the world around him, philosophy proves to be at the very centre of all questions of world outlook. Science, art, religion, various political doctrines, the nation's history, etc., are also involved, in addition to philosophy, in the moulding of a world outlook. And its character bears the impress of people's way of life, and of their everyday and production activity. But philosophy has a special place in the system of world outlook. What is it? Philosophy takes nothing on trust. From its very origin philosophers have always striven to prove their propositions. They have adduced arguments in defence of them, developed theories about exact and incontrovertible proofs, and have striven to introduce a definite order and consistency into philosophical knowledge and to reduce it to a system. At the same time, when refuting their opponents, philosophers developed rules of critical argument and reasoning. They did not simply reject certain views but adduced substantiated, uncontradictory arguments that refuted them. By proving certain views of the world and demonstrating man's place in it, a philosophical theory thereby substantiates a corresponding world outlook. Consequently, philosophy emerges as the latter's theoretical basis. Each historical age has developed its own outlook on the world. The content and form ( 111) of this outlook depend on the level of development of society, science, technology, and culture as a whole. With the rise of classes and class contradictions (206), a world outlook also acquires a class character. Slaves and slave-owners, 12

serfs and landowners, workers and capitalists hold different views of the world; and understand the role and purpose of man' differently. In the course of class struggle each class endeavours to defend its outlook and to refute the views of classes hostile to it. The world outlook of the progressive classes of society, while the most advanced ,for their epochs, also requires substantiation and proof. Philosophers who defend the interests of a class develop-the principles of a corresponding outlook, and arguments in its favour, and at the same time polish and sharpen. critical arguments for fighting ;other, hostile views. The important :world-outlook role or function of philosophy is manifested in that.· ··In our day, when the forces:,of peace and socialism are waging· a tremendous historical struggle against the forces of war and imperialism, there is also a sharp struggle of two world outlooks, viz., the progressive, scientific, Marxist-Leninist world outlook and the reactionary, unscientific, capitalist one. Socialism ensures the predominance of, a scientific·\ world' outlook in the intellectual life of