For example, social existence determines social consciousness, mode of production plays a decisive role in social life, and relations of production must adapt to the development of productive forces. I read through this classic book with the purpose of cultivating philosophical thinking and improving philosophical literacy, and have a further understanding of Marxist historical materialism.
I believe that the starting point for an accurate understanding of Marxist historical materialism is an accurate understanding of "realistic people", needs and consciousness. In the social and historical development, "realistic man" is the premise, need is the driving force and consciousness is the product, which are intertwined.
First of all, "realistic people" is the premise of social and historical development. The subject of history is people, and history is only the activity of people who pursue their own goals. Here, the people mentioned in historical materialism are not isolated and abstract people in some fantasy, but living people in the process of development that can be observed through experience.
As Marx and Engels pointed out in the German Ideology, "The individuals mentioned here are not individuals imagined by themselves or others, but individuals in reality, that is, these individuals are engaged in activities and produce materials, so they are active within certain material boundaries, premises and conditions that are not at their disposal."
This "realistic individual" is the starting point and premise of historical materialism and even the whole theory of Marxism. "The first premise of all human history is undoubtedly the existence of living individuals." "Any historical record should start from these natural foundations and the changes that have taken place in the historical process due to human activities."
It can be seen that history is the history of human beings, and the people who are the subject of historical activities and the object of historical investigation are "realistic individuals" and "people who engage in material production activities under certain historical conditions and in certain relationships", rather than abstract and illusory "people" under the old philosophy.
The activities of realistic people constitute society and history, so the understanding and research of social history cannot bypass "realistic people". Therefore, an accurate understanding of Marxist historical materialism must start with a correct understanding of "realistic people", and it is very important to establish such a foundation and premise.
Secondly, need is the driving force of social and historical development. Needs are the needs of "realistic people" and the requirements of people for external existence in order to meet their own survival and development, which run through every link of the main activities.
In German Ideology, Marx and Engels believed that "human needs are human nature", which is the basis of "the first premise of history" (that is, being able to live) and the starting point of "the first historical activity" (that is, the production of material materials).
They pointed out, "We are talking about some Germans without any preconditions, so we must first determine the first premise of all human existence, that is, the first premise of all history. This premise is that people must be able to live in order to' create history'.
But in order to live, you need to eat, drink, live, wear and other things first. Therefore, the first historical activity is the material production to meet these needs, that is, the production of material life itself, and this is such a historical activity, which is a basic condition of all history. People must complete it every day and every hour just to be able to live, now and thousands of years ago.
Therefore, any view of history should first pay attention to the full meaning and scope of the above-mentioned basic facts and give them due attention. ""The second fact is that the first need that has been met, the activities to meet the needs and the tools to meet the needs have caused new needs, and the emergence of this new need is the first historical activity. "
So people's needs are hierarchical. On the basis of the most basic material needs, there are other higher-level needs, that is, "new needs", including the increase and improvement of material needs themselves and other higher-level needs different from the original material needs. The continuous improvement of human needs indicates the movement and development of society.
In German ideology, people's needs are a multi-level structure consisting of the most basic survival needs (material needs), communication needs on this basis and people's all-round development needs.
Material needs and communication needs are intertwined with life and production. In order to survive and "live", human beings are producing material materials. On the one hand, this "first historical activity" met people's needs for food, clothing, housing and transportation; On the other hand, on the basis of meeting basic needs, people have the need of communication in practice, thus forming certain social relations.
At first, family was "the only social relationship". Later, when the growth of demand produced new social relations and the increase of population produced new demands, the family became subordinate. "
The production of life can be said to include material needs and communication needs. "The production of life, whether it is to produce one's own life through labor or the lives of others through childbirth, immediately shows a dual relationship: on the one hand, it is a natural relationship, on the other hand, it is a social relationship.
The meaning of social relations here refers to the activities of many individuals. Under what conditions, in what way and for what purpose, it is not important.
Therefore, a certain mode of production or a certain industrial stage is always associated with a certain mode of activity or a certain social stage, and this mode of activity itself is productivity.
The sum of people's productive forces determines the social situation. Therefore, it is always necessary to study and discuss' human history' with the history of industry and exchange. "
Here, Marx and Engels revealed the core of historical materialism-productivity and production relations, and scientifically expounded the dialectical relationship principle of productivity and production relations for the first time, that is, productivity determines production relations, and what kind of productivity ultimately has what kind of production relations.
The relations of production react on productive forces, thus revealing the most basic laws of the development of human society. Therefore, research needs can be said to be a key to a more accurate understanding of Marxist historical materialism.
Third, consciousness is the product of social and historical development. Consciousness is produced by "realistic people" based on needs in the process of productive labor. This is also a very important truth revealed by historical materialism: human social existence determines human social consciousness.
People have spiritual attributes, and people are thinking animals. However, no ideological phenomenon of human beings can be a "pure" ideology that can be created out of thin air from the human brain. It is only a reflection of social material life.
"Consciousness can only be conscious existence at any time, and human existence is its real life process." In simple labor practice, people's awareness of their own needs is not much different from that of animals, but an intuitive, narrow and emotional reflection of the environment. Marx and Engels called this kind of consciousness "pure herding consciousness" or "herding consciousness".
Later, "because of the improvement of production efficiency, the increase of demand and the increase of population, this kind of sheep consciousness or tribal consciousness has been further developed and improved." It is precisely because spirit and consciousness are unique phenomena of human beings that when "realistic people" start their historical activities, they are bound to be accompanied by spiritual consciousness.
In a word, "realistic man" is the philosophical premise of historical materialism, and inevitability is the essence of "realistic man" and the premise of "the first historical activity" of mankind. Consciousness is the product of society, which is produced and developed in the activities of "real people" and accompanied by human historical activities from beginning to end.
Therefore, an accurate understanding of Marxist historical materialism must be based on an accurate understanding of "realistic people", needs and consciousness.
Writing skills after reading;
1, the first step is "quote".
The beginning is around the feeling point, which leads to the reading material. Quote the original text concisely, and don't describe the specific contents of the books and articles you read in large paragraphs.
2. The second step is "discussion".
After the introduction of the material, explain the reasons for the feeling after reading around the material, that is, put forward the argument (that is, the feeling point). The argument should be correct and clear, not vague. When telling the truth, we can analyze and evaluate the content of "quotation" on the basis of facts.
You can also make a discussion from phenomenon to essence, from individual to general; It is necessary to deeply analyze meaningful materials, and then naturally "highlight" your feelings, which is the central argument. The "introduction" and "discussion" are equivalent to the "introduction" in general argumentative papers.
3. The third step is "linking".
This paper discusses similar phenomena, ideological reality or related issues in life and history from here to there. This part should pay attention to comparative analysis and reasoning, not just listing phenomena.
Connecting with reality can not only connect with similar phenomena in real life from one place to another, but also connect with opposing problems in real life from ancient times to the present, and sometimes it can also be personal thoughts, words and deeds and experiences.
4. The fourth step is "knot".
Summarize your own views and summarize the full text. It can not only take care of the last article, but also emphasize the meaning; You can also raise hopes and issue calls.
But no matter how it ends, it must form an organic whole with the previous part and cannot be born; You should also tie the knot naturally.