1. The history of philosophy shows that philosophy is the spirit of freedom. Freedom is the essence of philosophy, without which there is no real philosophy; To kill freedom is to kill philosophy. Today, the unprecedented prosperity of China's philosophy is inseparable from the development of the free spirit of philosophy researchers and the improvement of social environment. Of course, it can't be said that the development of our philosophy today is completely free, and there are some unsatisfactory places in terms of the subject of philosophical thinking and the external environment of philosophical development. Therefore, it is not superfluous to talk about philosophy and freedom today.
2. Freedom is a concept that marks the degree of autonomy of human activities. The higher a person's autonomy in activities, the freer his life will be. People's freedom is manifested in many aspects, and there are three basic ones. One is the freedom of people to live in nature. People are also natural beings and live in nature. But people are different from animals. Animals are only a simple part of nature. They only rely on and adapt to nature. Animal life is not created by itself, so there is no freedom in nature. Man creates his own life by transforming nature. He is the creator and master of his own life, which is manifested in his essential autonomy, that is, freedom. Second, people's freedom in social life can also be called political freedom. People not only live in nature, but also in society, living in certain social relations and being restricted by social relations. Man has certain autonomy in social life, which is his freedom in social life. Third, people's freedom in spiritual life. In this respect, it is embodied in people's autonomy in knowing the world, designing the world, expressing their thoughts and discussing with each other.
The freedom of philosophy is the freedom of spirit and the freedom of social life. This is because philosophy not only knows the world, but also participates in transforming it, so philosophy has become a part of social life.
3. The freedom of philosophy is first manifested as the independence of philosophers' thoughts. The independent thinking of philosophers is the most basic thing of philosophical freedom. This is because the freedom of philosophy is not mainly given by some force other than philosophy, but something that philosophy itself wants to express and strive for. Without social or political freedom, a philosopher can still think freely if he has independence; But without the independent thinking of philosophers, philosophy will lose its freedom fundamentally.
From a formal point of view, the philosophical freedom embodied by the independence of philosophers seems to be the easiest to obtain. Because philosophy is always embodied in the thinking of philosophers, and thinking is something in people's minds, and no force can force a person to think. As Feuerbach said, we can inject drugs into a person's body with a needle, but no one can inject ideas into his mind with a needle. In fact, it is not easy for a philosopher to think freely only from his own factors. This is because philosophers must have certain conditions if they want to think independently and gain the freedom of philosophical thinking, such as rich knowledge, theoretical thinking ability, critical spirit, theoretical courage, sense of responsibility and so on. Only with these conditions can he become an independent subject of philosophical thinking and his philosophical thinking be free.
4. Rich knowledge is the foundation for philosophers to think freely. Although this is not the most important for a philosopher's freedom, without this foundation, he can't think philosophically freely. For an expert in a certain field, as long as he has mastered the knowledge in this field, he can become an expert (although the lack of knowledge in other fields will limit their freedom in this field to a certain extent), but for a philosopher, his knowledge must be extensive and not limited to a narrow field. Knowledge of natural science, social science and philosophy; Historical knowledge and practical knowledge; Domestic knowledge and foreign knowledge; ..... In short, philosophers should know all the achievements of human knowledge, although the knowledge in every field is not necessarily deep. There is no great philosopher in history who is not the "encyclopedia" of his time.
There was a misunderstanding about philosophy in the past, and there is still a misunderstanding now: it is the easiest to engage in philosophy and be a philosopher, and no special knowledge base and talent are needed. Hegel pointed out this situation at the beginning of Lectures on the History of Philosophy: "The difficulties of the times make people pay too much attention to ordinary trivial interests in daily life. In fact, lofty interests and the competition for these interests greatly occupy all spiritual abilities and strengths and external means, so that people have no free mood to pay attention to higher inner life and purer spiritual activities, so that many outstanding talents are bound by this difficult environment. (Note: Hegel: Lectures on the History of Philosophy, Commercial Press, 1953, p. 1 p.) Strong talents turned to practice, while shallowness dominated philosophy, which prevailed for a while. (Noe: Hegel: Lectures on the History of Philosophy, Commercial Press, 1953, p. 2. This situation also exists in our time. It is our highest interest to realize modernization, which needs science and technology first. "Science and technology are the primary productive forces", so most talented people turn to practical affairs such as science and technology, leaving some people with little talent to engage in philosophy, thus "shallowly dominating philosophy". Among college graduates, most outstanding talents go to graduate students who are in urgent need of major in society, or directly engage in practical work that they think is promising and affordable; And those who have no talent will take a master's degree in philosophy. Some people take a PhD in order to get a doctorate, even if they don't understand philosophy. In some places, with a considerable official title, people who don't understand philosophy can even be doctoral tutors in philosophy, and so on. Of course, this is not to promote the development of philosophy, but to corrode philosophy. These people are not actually engaged in philosophy, but are seeking something else in the name of philosophy. In other words, they are led by other things, and of course they can't be free in the field of philosophy.
5. Philosophy is a kind of theoretical thinking, which requires high theoretical thinking ability, such as abstract thinking ability, logical thinking ability, grasping and applying concepts and so on. For the freedom of philosophy, theoretical thinking ability is more important than knowledge. Knowledge but no theoretical thinking ability, can not correctly develop philosophical thinking; Although not knowledgeable, people who have a certain foundation and good theoretical thinking ability can still make achievements in philosophy. The ability of theoretical thinking is not innate, but acquired through long-term thinking training. People who are interested in philosophy can acquire theoretical thinking ability through long-term training as long as they are willing to work hard.
6. In the theoretical thinking ability, one thing is particularly important, that is, critical spirit. Critical spirit is the most important expression of independent thinking. Without critical spirit, we will lose our independent philosophical thinking and the freedom of philosophical thinking. Great philosophers in the history of philosophy are all people with critical spirit. They have a spirit of analyzing and criticizing the philosophy of their predecessors and other contemporary people. On this basis, they can create their own philosophy or stick to a philosophy, which fully embodies the freedom of philosophical thinking.
Some people only understand the history of philosophy, or simply blindly accept a philosophical point of view. This is not the freedom of philosophical thinking, but the blind obedience of spirit. For example, in the past hundred years, people in the Marxist movement have been talking about "dialectical materialism" or "dialectical materialism and historical materialism", and few people have thought about the disadvantages of this way of understanding. For another example, after the reform and opening up, some people blindly worship western philosophy, copying the terms and judgments of western philosophy with little knowledge everywhere, while simply rejecting and denying Marxist philosophy. Formally, these people's philosophical thinking is very free, but in essence, many of them are blind followers and lack the spirit of independent criticism. This is not the freedom of philosophical thinking, but only the expression of non-freedom. Others are keen on "new ideas" and "hot spots". They say this today, say that tomorrow, approve this today and approve that tomorrow. It looks critical and "free" in form, but actually it just follows the trend, which is contradictory and chaotic. Their thinking is not independent, but is led by other things, so they have no freedom.
7. Philosophers need theoretical courage besides knowledge base, thinking ability and critical spirit to think independently. Philosophical thinking is not only a personal behavior, but also a social behavior. Because philosophical thinking must be expressed to the society, it has a certain social role. The reason why philosophers think about philosophical problems is to transform society; Society needs philosophy because social life needs the guidance of philosophy. Up to now, social differentiation can not be completely eliminated, and there are different interests and different concepts in society. Therefore, when philosophers express their thoughts and become a kind of social behavior, they will be recognized by some people and arouse the anger of others. Even the members of that class who are related to the interests actually represented by the philosopher's thinking may oppose this philosophical thinking because they don't understand it. For example, Hegel's proposition that "all realistic things are reasonable" has aroused the praise of conservative officials and the anger of the revolutionary liberal bourgeoisie. However, Hegel's proposition essentially reflects the revolutionary demands of the bourgeoisie. Therefore, philosophers' thinking is often criticized under theoretical and political pressure. Without theoretical courage, it is difficult to insist on independent thinking and maintain the freedom of philosophical thinking.
8. The philosopher's theoretical courage comes from his sense of social responsibility and his conscious expression and pursuit of certain social interests. Any philosopher, any kind of philosophical theory, is actually the conceptual expression of the interests of a certain era, a certain class or stratum. When a philosopher struggles for the interests he represents, he will have the courage to stick to his philosophical thoughts; On the contrary, he will hesitate and waver, losing the thoroughness and independence of theory and the freedom of philosophy.
Politics is the concentrated expression of interests. Therefore, philosophers struggle for certain interests and also show certain political tendencies. As far as the relationship between philosophy and politics is concerned, philosophy is subordinate to and serves politics. The view that philosophy is subordinate to politics and serves politics has been criticized as "left" thinking. In my opinion, philosophy must obey and serve some kind of politics. In the final analysis, it must serve some social interests. There is a view that if philosophy wants to think independently and freely, it must stay away from politics. I think this concept is wrong. Politics is not an adjunct to philosophy. Politics is the inherent interest pursuit of philosophy itself. How does philosophy stay away from politics? The freedom of philosophy should be manifested as a theoretical activity of consciously fighting for certain interests, rather than a "safe haven" hiding in pure thinking without interests. As Marx said, once thoughts leave interests, they will make a fool of themselves. The so-called "staying away from politics" is actually a manifestation of philosophers' lack of theoretical courage, a manifestation of philosophical cowardice and a manifestation of philosophy's non-freedom. Being far away from politics does not mean the independence of philosophy, but only means that philosophy has given up its responsibility and thus its independence.
Philosophy obeys and serves politics, which cannot be simply understood as philosophy obeys and serves policies. "Politics" and "policy" are two interrelated but different concepts. Politics is the embodiment of the fundamental interests of a certain class and an objective social relationship, which cannot be evaluated by right or wrong. Policy is a measure taken by some countries and political parties to safeguard class interests. This kind of measure can not only correctly reflect the fundamental interests of the class, but also violate or even damage the fundamental interests of the class, so there are right and wrong points. Philosophy is always subordinate to and always serves certain politics, but it cannot be said that philosophy is always subordinate to and serves policies. Philosophy should defend the policies that correctly reflect the interests it pursues, and criticize the policies that deviate from the interests it pursues, which is the expression of philosophical independence. Therefore, a philosopher is often opposed not only by the opposing class, but also by his own class. He needs theoretical courage to maintain the independence of his philosophical thoughts. Whether philosophy is far away from politics (in fact, of course, it can't be done) or reduced to a tool for defending policies, it is a manifestation of philosophy's loss of independence and its non-freedom.
9. The freedom of philosophy is also manifested in the freedom provided by society for philosophical thinking. Although the freedom of philosophy is mainly manifested in the freedom of philosophers' own thinking, whether there is a good social environment has a very important influence on the freedom of philosophical thinking.
The social environmental factors that affect the freedom of philosophy mainly include: the social concept of philosophical function, academic atmosphere, and the policy adopted by the state on philosophical research.
10. The freedom of philosophy depends on the correct understanding of the function of philosophy by society. Philosophical researchers live in society, and social concepts and public opinion have a positive or negative impact on philosophical research.
There are two diametrically opposite views on the function of philosophy: one is "uselessness" and the other is "omnipotence". These two concepts are not conducive to the free development of philosophy. In fact, these two concepts are interlinked. "Omnipotence" is fundamental, and "uselessness" is the negation and negative expression of "Omnipotence". "Omnipotence" requires philosophy to solve various specific problems. When facts show that philosophy can't undertake this function, it leads to the "uselessness" of philosophy.
The concept of "omnipotence" hinders the independence of philosophical thinking. Influenced by the "omnipotent theory", some philosophical researchers are not doing what philosophy should do, but doing something that philosophy should not undertake. For example, replacing specific scientific's research with philosophy, all kinds of so-called "applied philosophy" are flying all over the sky; Or let philosophy become a simple tool for policy and authoritative argumentation. Because of the particularity of philosophy, there is no unified understanding of what philosophy should do. However, it is a common understanding that philosophy cannot be required to solve various specific problems. According to my understanding, specific problems should be solved by various disciplines and practices. What philosophy should do is to provide a universal way of thinking. Philosophy does not study the way of thinking, but does what other disciplines and professionals do, that is, it loses its independence and freedom.
1 1. The freedom of philosophical thinking needs a good academic atmosphere, which is the atmosphere of free criticism and discussion. Of course, this issue also involves national policies. Let's talk about the academic atmosphere first.
There are two academic atmospheres that are not conducive to the freedom of philosophy. One is to buckle the hat with a stick. The so-called beating a stick and swearing is nothing more than saying that some philosophical views have political problems. Philosophy is indeed inseparable from politics, but it is not direct politics, but an academic problem. Therefore, differences in philosophical academic views can only be resolved through equal and fully rational academic discussions, rather than simply beating sticks and swearing. The academic atmosphere of beating sticks and cursing people is the strangulation of philosophical freedom.
Another academic atmosphere is not conducive to the freedom of philosophy, that is, no criticism and no discussion. As mentioned above, freedom is the essence of philosophy, and freedom means expressing one's own independent views, including criticizing other different views. Therefore, criticism and discussion is the expression and requirement of philosophical freedom. Academics without criticism are rigid and boring. On the surface, they may be "a hundred flowers blossom" and very free, but there is no "a hundred schools of thought contend". This philosophy is actually not free.
12. The real implementation of the academic policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend" is the most important external factor of China's philosophical freedom. Its function is to ensure that philosophers can freely express their philosophical views and that academic circles have a good academic atmosphere for free criticism and discussion.
China has long formulated the academic policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend", but there are some problems in the past implementation. According to the policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend", academic problems can only be solved by academic "letting go" and "arguing", not by administrative means. For any academic point of view, you can only speak as a scholar rather than an authority, even if you think there are some political problems. You have the right to criticize and others have the right to counter-criticize. This certainly does not apply to direct political issues. When a philosopher draws a political conclusion directly, it is beyond the academic scope and cannot be solved by the policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend". However, the main problem in the implementation of the policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom" in the past was that the solution of academic problems was not distinguished from the solution of political problems, and academic problems were often solved directly by solving political problems, and academic intervention was carried out through administration, which was a suppression of the spirit of philosophical freedom.
Needless to say, the freedom of philosophy, whether it is the freedom of philosophical thinking itself or the freedom of philosophical thinking in society, can only be relative rather than absolute, concrete rather than abstract.
14. The freedom of thinking of philosophers is relative, because the thinking of philosophers is restricted by various conditions. From the perspective of thinking subject, the freedom of philosophical thinking is limited by various conditions of the subject; As far as the object of thinking is concerned, philosophy is always limited by the development of the times. Philosophy is the thinking of the times, and it is an era grasped in thought. Philosophy cannot surpass the imagination of the times, and even the imagination of philosophers is subject to the times.
15. The freedom that society can give philosophy is also a historical development. The freedom that every era and society can give to philosophy is concrete, historical and changeable. In a class society, a country will always be a country with a certain class, and will always decide to give philosophy freedom from its own class interests. Therefore, this freedom cannot be abstract and absolute.
16. In short, the spirit of philosophy is the spirit of freedom; The freedom of philosophy first lies in the philosopher himself; At the same time, philosophers should also strive for social freedom, and society should give freedom to philosophy development according to its own development needs; The freedom of philosophy can only be concrete, conditional and relative, but not abstract, unconditional and absolute.