As the title suggests, I am posting some of my questions and notes here, looking forward to everyone’s answers!
《Marxist Philosophy Outline》 Study Notes, Part Four: The Laws and Categories of Dialectical Materialism
Chapter Two: The Law of Quantitative Change, Section Two: The Law of Quantity and Quality
Quantitative change is a relatively static state when the contradictory sides within a thing have not yet undergone a primary-secondary reversal, and the degree of the thing has not yet been broken through; quality change is a significant change when the contradictory sides within a thing undergo a primary-secondary reversal, and the degree of the thing is being broken through.
Quantitative change can lead to qualitative change; only a certain amount of change causes the corresponding quality change. Moreover, when considering quantitative change, one must also consider the quantitative change of both sides of the contradiction to better grasp the overall quantitative change of the contradiction.
Quantitative change alters the quality of a thing; similarly, quality change alters the quantity of a thing. Every step of qualitative change results in a “newly elevated power.”
Partial qualitative changes occur during the process of quantitative change, which include the resolution or intensification of non-fundamental contradictions within the thing. Within a certain range, the boundary between partial qualitative change and fundamental qualitative change is absolute; however, when the range changes, this boundary becomes relative, and situations that were originally partial qualitative changes may turn into fundamental qualitative changes.
During the process of qualitative change, there is an expansion of quantity. This is different from quantitative change because it does not involve a change in quality; it is also different from the expansion of quantity during the process of qualitative change, which is the resolution of the fundamental contradiction within the thing, representing the accumulation of fundamental qualitative change in terms of quantity.
Quantitative change is a necessary preparation for qualitative change; qualitative change is an inevitable result of quantitative change. Without a certain amount of quantitative change, qualitative change cannot be achieved. The forces of both sides of the contradiction are always in dynamic change; when one side’s force overwhelmingly surpasses the other, a qualitative change occurs. The inevitable result of quantitative change is qualitative change because the unity of contradiction cannot be maintained forever; one side will eventually prevail in the struggle, breaking the unity of contradiction and causing a qualitative change.
6 Likes
Recently, I encountered two problems in life. One is related to my previous speculative experiences, and the other concerns my future.
First, let’s talk about the first issue regarding speculative experiences. Because I previously fantasized about gaining a guaranteed admission through the guidance of a mentor, writing papers, and participating in competitions, I stayed in the mentor’s team for more than half a year. I mainly did miscellaneous tasks in the team, and learned mostly speculative skills, which are hard to acquire truly useful knowledge. After engaging with forums and communicating with comrades, I decisively gave up such speculative pursuits. However, I had previously promised the mentor some commitments—how should I handle these? I promised to write a patent; complete a small project. But I personally dislike doing these things, and I haven’t learned anything useful for the revolution from these tasks. My hesitation about whether to do them or not mainly stems from issues of integrity—breaking promises is against morality; but for those exploiting me, do I need to uphold morality? I want to hear the opinions of comrades.
Next, regarding the second issue—the future. When I saw the criticisms of SparrowX’s comrades and Erickson’s thoughts on dropping out, I also reflected. My major is Automation, and due to the particular nature of my class, the curriculum arrangement is unreasonable. Just one week of classes takes up a lot of time, not to mention that I haven’t learned much in the past year and a half, as my free time was spent on speculation. Then I thought about the upcoming years of life: I can meet the demands of bourgeois academia while engaging in labor reform and learning scientific and technological knowledge useful for the revolution. Indeed, I need to learn some skills to serve the revolution, but these skills are not only learned in school; they can be self-taught. School life is entirely harmful and no benefit, so I am considering dropping out.
1 Like
This kind of thing is just a chain of exploitation used by the ruling class to bind people. Confucius said that being untrustworthy shows a lack of credibility, but after he became the Grand Minister, he immediately overstepped his authority and murdered Shao Zhengmao. Not to mention including “integrity” as a core value of the Confucian orthodoxy—when has keeping promises ever been truly upheld? Your mentor is the same kind of person; when using Confucianism to manipulate others, he can talk about integrity and gratitude, but when you ask him to be honest, he just ignores you.
As for dropping out, I support it; staying in school only suppresses enthusiasm and ability to learn. But regarding this matter, it’s better to think carefully about future plans.
1 Like
《Marxist Philosophy Outline》 Study Notes Part Four: The Laws and Categories of Dialectical Materialism
Chapter Two: The Law of Quantitative Change
Section Three: Forms of Leap
;The form of leap depends on the nature and conditions of the matter, and can generally be divided into explosive leaps and non-explosive leaps. However, whether explosive or non-explosive, their essence is a qualitative change, a revolution. Modern revisionists like to use the diversity of leaps to talk nonsense about “peaceful transition,” concealing the fact that “the exploiting class has never voluntarily exited the stage of history.”
;A leap is a process. First, it is necessary to correctly judge whether a leap is needed based on the internal contradictions of the matter, and then to correctly assess the time required for the leap, which is meaningful. Correctly estimating the duration of the leap is very important, otherwise, it is easy to make the mistake of “left” or “right” deviation.
1 Like