The Theory of Scientific Socialism Should Be Developed in Practice

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

much more difficult than that described in "The Theory of Practice." We don't understand the essence of things as soon as we obtain rational knowledge by eliminating the noise and retaining the true in perceptual knowledge. A clairman idea and other "The Theory of Practice" that of the knowledge is incomplete and its onesidedness can be observed through the test of practice; some knowledge is conscious and its mistakes can be corrected through the test of practice. When he said correcting mistakes, he referred to mistakes in rational knowledge. It is thus clear that rational knowledge does not necessarily reflects the essence of things and that it needs to be tested in practice. Therefore, it is wrong to say that once a concept is formed, the essence of things will be reflected.

Fedan Graduate Seminar Discusses Crisis of Marxism

40030341b Shanghai WEN HUI BAO in Chinese

7 Jun 28 p 4

[By Li Ling 2621 7227]

[Text] The Question of Crisis in Marxist Philosophy

Fudan University's first-term graduate students specializing in philosophy discussed Marxist philosophy in a recent seminar. Most of them agreed that in the development of theories in China, also-called crisis actually exists in Marxist philosophy. As to the cause of this crisis and the way to overcome it, however, the participants had many different opinions.

1. Some were of the opinion that the so-called crisis in Marxist philosophy of the present age is caused by the current publication of textbooks on this subject. The system of Marxist philosophy according to these textbooks is mostly based on the old 18th-century materialism. The same traditional theory of knowledge is still used to explain some basic categories of Marxist philosophy, and the system used is based on a Soviet model of the 1930's. Therefore, the use of these textbooks in education obstructs further explorations in Marxist philosophy, and causes a stagnation in the study of Marxism. The only way to overcome this crisis is to get completely out of the entanglement with old materialism, and to search for a new starting point. In other words, we must study Marxism afresh in order to understand Marx and his philosophy.

2. The so-called crisis in Marxist philosophy of the present age can also be attributed to this cause: Marxism no longer enjoys its supreme position as a system of values and faith in people's minds. To overcome this crisis, we should combine our national cultural tradition with the latest ideological trend of Western philosophy and set up a new system of values and faith that is needed by Chinese people in order to eliminate the sense of an impending crisis.

1. After the beginning of the reform and the adoption of an open policy in China, people are more concerned with the economic activities which have a direct bearing on social development, and have the feeling that philosophy is too abstract and far removed from the realities of daily life. That is why philosophy has been neglected. To overcome this situation, we should liberate philosophy from the confines of its abstract form and take the road of philosophical application (such as application of the philosophy of management, philosophy of technology, and so forth), so that philosophy will be more closely related to the realities of social life. Philosophy will then be able to find its proper place in the present society.

4. The so-called crisis in Marxist is essentially a type of political crisis, or a conflict between the realities of social conditions and the old ideology. We must overcome this political crisis before we can remove the sense of crisis in philosophy from people's minds.

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More Security for Political Theorists Urged 40050342 Shanghai JIEFANG RIBAO in Chinese 8 Jun 88 p 6

[Article by Deng Weizhi [677202511807]: "Raise the Coefficient of Political Security for Theorists"]

[Text] If we say that our theoretical work is not rich or vivid enough, one of the important causes may be the low coefficient of political security for the theorists.

The position of theorists in China, as shown in a social cross-section, is not by means low. Some theorists did occupy eminent positions at certain times. Vertically and individually, however, they had their ups and downs. Their positions were even more precarious when "class struggle is taken as the key link." The situation, though much improved in recent years, is still by no means tranquil. Normal academic debates may suddenly be charged as indications of political dissidence and a good book just published may become the primary target of scrutiny. Because of the changes in the political climate, suspension of publication and sales, destruction of the printing plate, replacement of pages and so forth are common sights. In a certain year, for example, a theorist was invited to deliver a lecture. The script was examined in advance, the delivery of the lecture was warmly applauded, and people cordially shook hands with the lecturer. In a news report on this event, however, this theorist was accused of "opposing the CPC Central Committee." Again, when a certain theorist in Shanghai joined the "mass criticism" according to a unified plan, a tabloid with powerful backing accused him of committing the same mistakes which he himself criticized. The theorist and some others did not know whether they should laugh or cry.