DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM
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KARL MARX FREDRICK ENGELS V. I. LENIN J. V. STALIN DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM
1933
CONTENTS
FROM COMPILERS 16
CHAPTER ONE. MARXISM-LENINISM—THE WORLD OUTLOOK OF THE PROLETARIAT 18
I. The Historical Conditions for the Emergence of Marxism 18
II. Marxism as a generalization of the experience of the class struggle of the proletariat 34
Marx and Engels put science in place of dreams 34
Spontaneity and consciousness 35
World historical role of the proletariat 37
It is necessary to master the knowledge of world science 38
The Communist International is on the point of view of dialectical materialism 39
III. Sources and Components of Marxism 40
The Three Sources and Three Components of Marxism 40
The Place and Significance of the Various Components of Marxism 45
IV. Marxism is not a dogma, but a guide to action 73
Partisan theory 73
The difference between materialism and objectivism 77
Theory and Practice in Marxism 78
Philosophy Associated with Politics 80
Combine practice with theory 81
Eliminate the Backlog of Theory from Practice 81
Theory gives clarity of perspective 82
The creative nature of Marxism-Leninism 83
Our theory is a guide to action 85
Without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement 85
V. Leninism—Marxism of the era of imperialism and proletarian revolutions 90
VI. Revisionism and its Class Roots 92
The Historical Destiny of the Teachings of K. Marx 92
Disagreements in the European Labour Movement 95
Marxism and Revisionism 99
Lenin on Kautsky and Kautskyism 106
K. Marx on Kautsky 108
VII. The General Crisis of Capitalism and the Transformation of Social Democracy into Social Fascism 109
Revolutionary Crisis and Counter-Revolutionary Social Democracy 109
The crisis of capitalism and fascism 110
Fascism is Based on Social Democracy 112
Social Democracy as the Main Social Support of the Bourgeoisie 113
VIII. Lenin’s Struggle for the Purity of Marxist Theory 116
Leninism as a Direct Continuation and Development of Marxism 116
Against Trotskyist smuggling in questions of the history and theory of Bolshevism 121
IX. The Significance of Comrade Stalin in the Further Development of Marxist-Leninist theory 135
Comrade Stalin—leader of the Communist International 135
The Role of Comrade Stalin in the Struggle for the Implementation of the Party’s General Line 136
X. The Need for an Irreconcilable Fight Against Anti-Marxist Movements 145
CHAPTER TWO. MATERIALISM AND IDEALISM 154
I. Materialism and idealism 154
Lenin on two main directions in philosophy 155
II. Forms of idealism 158
Subjective idealism 158
Machism and its criticism by Lenin 163
Sensation is the direct connection of consciousness with the outside world 169
“Discovery of the Elements of the World” 170
Sensation is a Subjective Image of the Objective World 173
Subjective idealism leads to solipsism 174
Bogdanov’s Philosophy—Subjective Idealism 175
Empiriomonism recognizes the identity of thinking and being 180
Kant’s Dualistic Philosophy 184
Turning “Things in Ourselves” into “Things for Us” 189
Natural Science Rejects the Kantian “Thing in Itself” 191
Hegel’s objective idealism 192
The Contradiction Between Method and System in Hegel’s Philosophy 200
Marx on the Hegelian Phenomenology 202
Agnosticism 203
The Possibility of Cognition is Practically Proved 206
Yuma agnosticism 208
Agnostic Denies the Possibility of Knowledge of Matter 211
III. The Reactionary Nature of Idealism and the Need to Combat It 212
Idealism—the Defence and Justification of Religion 212
Against God-Seeking and God-Building 216
The idea of God is the idea of slavery 219
Class and epistemological roots of idealism 221
The class roots of religion 222
IV. Materialism before Marx 224
1. French Materialism of the XVIII century, and Its Historical Significance 224
V. Dialectical Materialism of Marx, Engels, Lenin 249
The Overcoming of the Old Philosophical Teachings by Marx and Engels and the Creation of Dialectical Materialism 249
The Abolition of Philosophy in the Old Sense of the Word 251
The Creation of Materialistic Dialectics by Marx and Engels 252
Three Great Discoveries in the Field of Natural Sciences and Materialistic Dialectics 255
Materialistic Understanding of History 258
Fundamentals of Dialectical Materialism 260
CHAPTER THREE. LAWS AND CATEGORIES OF MATERIALIST DIALECTICS 277
I. Dialectics and metaphysics 277
The Historical Conditions of the Rule of Metaphysics 280
II. Hegel’s Idealistic Dialectic and Its Overcoming by Marx and Engels 281
The Attitude of Marx and Engels to Hegel’s Idealistic Dialectic 281
The Laws of Dialectics are Extracted from the History of Nature and Human Society 283
How to Study Hegel 284
Marx’s Method is the Opposite of Hegel’s 286
Lenin on the Attitude to the Idealistic Dialectic of Hegel 290
III. Forms of Motion of Matter, Their Interaction and Transitions from One to Another 291
About Mechanical Science 294
The Inconsistency of Mechanical Materialism Leads to Idealism 297
Attributes of Matter are not Destroyed 298
Equilibrium is relative 299
Movement and Development in Nature and Society 301
Historical View of Society 306
Capital Movement 308
IV. The Law of Unity of Opposites 309
Contradiction is a Source of Self-Movement 309
V. The Law of the Transition of Quantity into Quality and vice versa 352
Examples from the Field of Physics and Chemistry 353
The Universality of the Law of the Transition of Quantity into Quality 358
Examples from the Field of Social Production 362
The Simple Addition of Peasant Implements in the Bowels of Collective Farms
Gives a Sharp Increase in Labour Productivity 365
Jump 366
VI. Law of Negation of Negation 366
VII. Categories of Materialist Dialectics 387
The Peculiarity of the Revolution of 1905 414
CHAPTER FOUR. THE IDENTITY OF DIALECTICS, LOGIC AND THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
IN MARXIST-LENINIST PHILOSOPHY 454
I. Marxist-Leninist Theory of Reflection 454
The Unity of Thinking and Being 454
Being Determines Consciousness 455
The Content of Human Knowledge 457
Public Consciousness Reflects Social Being 458
Man, Acting on Nature, Changes His Own Nature 460
The Starting Point of the Historical Description 461
The Contemplative Nature of Feuerbach’s Materialism 463
The Concrete Historical Unity of the Subject and Object in Public Practice 465
Cognition is the Process of Reflecting the Objective World in Human Consciousness 467
Our Senses are Images of the Outside World 468
Path of Knowledge 470
Cognition is Movement 470
The Contradictory Process of Cognition 471
Plekhanov’s Identification of the Theory of Cognition of Marxism with the Epistemology of Feuerbach 472
Leninist Criticism of the Theory of Hieroglyphs Plekhanov 473
The Defence of Plekhanov’s Mistakes by Representatives of Mechanism and Menshevik Idealism 476
The Concept of “Experience” 478
Plekhanov’s Mistake Regarding the Concept of “Experience” 482
The Value of Sensory and Mental Moments in Cognition 484
Representation and Thinking 485
Neglect of Theory Leads to Spiritualism. 485
Practice Proves Necessity 485
Partisan Theory 486
Bourgeois Philosophy Expresses the Class Interests of the Capitalists. 487
The Limitations of Classical Political Economy 488
Bankruptcy of Bourgeois Political Economy 489
II. Marxist-Leninist Doctrine of Objective Truth 491
Objective Truth 491
Absolute and Relative Truth 497
What is True Knowledge 504
Revision of the Marxist-Leninist Doctrine of Objective Truth by Mechanists and Menshevik Idealists 511
Menshevik Idealism Divides the Path of Knowledge From its Content 513
The Truth is Concrete, There is No Abstract Truth 513
How Opportunists Distort the Truth 514
The Desire to Seek Answers in the Simple Logical Development of a Common Truth is the Vulgarization of Marxism 515
The Peculiarity of the Marxist Method of Studying Social Development 516
The Difference Between Dialectics and Sophistry 517
Practice is the Basis and Criterion of the Truth of Knowledge 518
The Emergence and Development of Pure Mathematics is Associated with
the Development of Social Production and Sciences 519
The Unity of Theory and Practice 521
K. Marx on the Significance of Revolutionary Practical-Critical Activity 522
Practice is the Unity of Contradictions 523
Lenin’s Criticism of the Machist Detachment of the Theory of Knowledge from Practice 525
The Class Roots of the Separation of Theory from Practice 530
Separation of Material and Spiritual Labour 531
How to Learn Communism 531
The Combination of Knowledge and Practice is Necessary 532
The Value of Scientific Abstractions in Cognition 533
The Power of Scientific Abstraction 533
The Use of Scientific Abstractions 534
Abstraction of Universal Human Labour 535
Research Method and Presentation Method 536
III. Historical and Logical 538
Materialistic Logic Coincides with the Theory of Knowledge 542
How to study dialectics 543
The Historical Nature of Dialectical Logic 544
The Contrast Between Dialectics and the Theory of Knowledge Among the Menshevik Idealists 545
Dialectics, Logic and Theory of Knowledge among Menshevik Idealists 546
Doctrine of the Concept 547
Marxism Requires an Objective Application of Dialectics 548
Concepts Must be Flexible 549
Need to Study the History of Thinking 550
Hegel only guessed the Dialectics of the Material World in the Dialectics of Concepts 550
Induction and Deduction 551
Analysis of the History of Thought and the History of the Body 552
Induction must Coincide with Deduction 552
Development Theory Proves Unsuitable for Induction Divorced from Deduction 553
Dialectical Thought is Peculiar Only to Man 554
Subordination of the Forms of Thinking Movement 555
Consistency of the Laws of Thought and the Laws of Nature 556
IV . Formal Logic and Dialectics 557
The Law of Abstract Identity 558
Inapplicability of Abstract Identity 559
The Opposite of Formal Logic and Dialectical Logic 560
Plekhanov Gives Formal Logic an Independent Meaning 562
Dialectics and Eclecticism 563
IV. Formal Logic and Dialectics 565
The Law of Abstract Identity 566
Inapplicability of Abstract Identity 567
The Opposite of Formal Logic and Dialectical Logic 568
Plekhanov Gives Formal Logic an Independent Meaning 570
Dialectics and Eclecticism 571
CHAPTER FIVE. DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM AND SCIENCE 574
I. The Emergence and Development of Modern Science 574
The Subject of Natural Science and the Basics of the Classification of Natural Sciences 574
Dialectics of Natural History 575
Classification of Sciences 577
Metaphysical Period and Successes in the Development of Natural Science at the End of
the 18th and Beginning of the 19th Centuries 577
Penetration of the Idea of Development into Natural Science 587
The Ratio of Mechanical Motion and Heat 590
The Emergence and Development of Science is Due to Production 593
The development of theoretical science and materialistic dialectics 594
The Significance of the Three Great Discoveries for the Penetration of Dialectics into Natural Science 596
Criticism by Engels Darwin 599
The Importance of Darwin’s Work for Marxism 600
Philosophy and Natural Sciences 600
II. The Development and Crisis of Natural Science in the Era of Imperialism 603
Lenin on the Causes of the Crisis in Natural Science and Ways to Overcome it 603
Natural Facts Confirm Dialectical Materialism 608
Reasons for “Physical” Idealism 610
Lenin’s Criticism of the Idealism and Reactionary Nature of Bourgeois Naturalists 615
Partisanship of Science 621
The Development of Physics Confirms the Correctness of the Marxist Separation of the Two Directions in Philosophy 623
Machism is a Kind of Idealism 629
Description of the Philosophical Struggle over the Conclusions from the New Physics 631
Machism Associated with the Reactionary Minority of Physicists 638
Modern Physics Spontaneously goes to Dialectical Materialism 638
III. The Importance of Dialectical Materialism for Natural Science 639
The Need for Materialistic Dialectics for Natural Science 639
Natural Facts Supplant Formal Logic 644
The Study of the History of Thinking is Necessary for Natural Scientists 645
Without a Philosophical Justification, Natural Science cannot Withstand the Struggle Against Bourgeois Ideology 646
Misunderstanding of Materialistic Dialectics Leads Naturalists to Idealism 648
Dialectics in Mathematics 649
Contradiction in mathematics 650
Dialectic of Quantity 652
Asymptotes 653
Attraction and Repulsion 654
Unity and Diversity 654
Straight and Crooked 655
Interpenetration of Arithmetic Operations 655
Negative and Positive Values 656
The Mathematical Image of Processes 657
Decomposition of a Binomial into an Infinite Series 657
Trigonometry Development 657
An Example of the Law of Fall Confirms the Variability of Relationships in Nature 658
The Relationship of Categories is Justified by a Change in the Forms of Matter 658
The Continuity of Attraction and Repulsion 659
The Interpenetration of Attraction and Repulsion 661
Natural Science Advances Confirm Dialectical Materialism 662
The Restriction of the Laws of Classical Mechanics 662
Separation of Motion from Matter Leads to Spiritualism 663
Engels Modern Science and Anti-Dühring 664
IV. The Development of Science and Technology in the USSR 665
Class Struggle in the Field of Science and Technology 665
The Importance of Science and Technology for Socialist Construction 672
To Build Communism, it is Necessary to Draw Up the Basis of Modern Technology in Industry and Agriculture
674
The Tasks of Introducing Mechanization 675
On the Training of Technical Personnel 676
The Main Economic Task of the Second Five-Year Plan 677
Master the Technique 679
The Need to Fight on Two Fronts in Science and Technology 680
About Oversimplification and Oversimplification 689
CHAPTER SIX .THE LENINIST STAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALIST DIALECTICS
AND THE STRUGGLE ON TWO FRONTS IN THE FIELD OF PHILOSOPHY 691
I. Leninism and Its Historical Roots 691
The Historical Roots of Leninism 691
Leninism - Marxism of the era of imperialism and proletarian revolutions 693
The international significance of Leninism 697
Leninism—the Receiver of Marxism 699
The Main Stages in the History of Bolshevism 700
In the struggle against which enemies within the labour movement Bolshevism grew, strengthened and tempered 704
II. The role of Lenin in the development of the theory of social development 711
Marxism grew out of the revolutionary experience and revolutionary thought of all countries 711
Marxism is enriched by the new experience of the class struggle of the proletariat 712
The Task of Science is to give a True Dlogan of Struggle 712
Concretization and development of the teachings of Marx by Lenin 714
III. Lenin’s Doctrine of the Party and Partisanship of Philosophy 719
The party is the advanced detachment and political leader of the working class. 719
Party- an organized detachment of the working class 721
Party as the highest form of class organization of the proletariat 722
The role of the party in the system of the dictatorship of the proletariat 724
Central Committee of the CPSU (B.)—Political and Theoretical Headquarters of the Party 724
Partisanship of philosophy 725
IV. Development and concretization of materialist dialectics by Lenin 729
The Lenin method is a further development of the Marx method 729
Lenin on the essence of dialectics 730
Elements of materialistic dialectics 734
Heil’s Dialogue [ect] Ki (Logic) 736
The doctrine of Leninism on the main link 739
V. Lenin’s struggle for the purity of Marxist philosophy 743
Lenin’s struggle with philosophical revisionism 743
Lenin’s struggle with the subjectivity of the Narodniks and the objectivism of Struve 747
Lenin’s criticism of Plekhanov’s retreat from dialectical materialism 756
Lenin on the merits and errors of Plekhanov in philosophy 762
Lenin’s criticism of tactical opportunism by Plekhanov 762
Philosophical works of Lenin 765
VI. The struggle on two fronts in philosophy 785
The struggle on two fronts is the law of the development of our party 786
The social base of deviations from the general line of the party. Right deviation is the main danger at this stage 793
Mechanistic revision of dialectical materialism 798
The denial of the philosophical understanding of matter by mechanists 799
Engels and Lenin on the philosophical concept of matter 800
Mechanistic interpretation of movement 802
Engels movement interpretation 803
Mechanistic information theory 805
Criticism of the theory of “information” by Engels 807
Mechanists replace materialist dialectics with the theory of equilibrium 808
Lenin and Stalin on Bukharin’s distortions in questions of philosophy 808
Lenin’s remarks on N. Bukharin’s book “The Economy in Transition” 810
The Denial by the Mechanists of the Leninist Dtage in the Development of Marxist Philosophy 829
Mechanism-the Philosophical Basis of the Right Bias 831
The Opposite of the Methodological Foundations of Bolshevism and Menshevism 835
An Idealistic Understanding of Philosophy by Menshevik Idealists 836
Restoration and Canonization of Hegel among the Menshevik Idealists 836
Lenin on the Relation of Marxism to Hegel’s Idealistic Dialectic 840
Denial by the Menshevik idealists of the Leninist stage in the development of philosophy 841
Lesser idealism and Trotskyism 846
Results of the Discussion on the Philosophical Sector of the Theoretical Front 852
VII. The Tasks of Theoretical Work in the Field of Philosophy 862
The Meaning of Militant Materialism 862
Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU (B) of January 25, 1931 870