Universality and Particularity of a Contradiction

A pair of philosophical categories that reveal the existence of contradictions, the universality and individuality of contradictions and their mutual relations. The universality of a contradiction refers to the absoluteness and generality of a contradiction. The particularity of a contradiction refers to the relativity and the particularity of a contradiction. The relationship between the universality and the particularity of contradiction is the essence of contradictions. From the perspective of universe as a whole, the universality or absoluteness of contradiction has a twofold meaning: one is that contradiction exists in the process of development of all things, and the other is that in the process of development of each thing, a movement of opposites exists from beginning to end.

In ancient Chinese philosophy and ancient Greek philosophy, various ways were used to express the idea that all things are contradictory. This simple view of contradiction is that it is present in all processes of objectively existing things and of subjective thought. On the basis of speculative idealism, Hegel, the German classical philosopher, summed up the achievements of modern scientific development, expounded the theory that contradiction is inherent in all things, and put it through his own theoretical system. Then Marxist philosophy critically absorbed the rational elements of the previous philosophical ideas on contradiction and scientifically clarifies the universality of contradiction.

All phenomena and processes of nature, society and human thinking contain contradictions, which promote the development of things. There is nothing that does not contain contradiction; without contradiction nothing would exist. The universality, absoluteness and unconditional nature of contradiction have been proved by the practice of human society and the history of all scientific development. The universality of contradiction not only refers to the absoluteness and unconditionality of contradiction, but also refers to the generality of contradiction in a certain situation and scope.

People's understanding of things means understanding the contradictions within things. Scientific understanding lies in the inherent contradiction in the study of objective world. Adhering to the principle of universality of contradiction and the theoretical and working methods of contradiction analysis is the basic premise of understanding and solving all problems and the fundamental requirement of materialist dialectics.

Mao Zedong placed special stress on analyzing the particularity of contradiction in his On Contradiction and constructed a rigorous logical system to analyze the particularity of contradiction. The particularity of contradiction can be studied on several levels.

Firstly, the contradiction in each form of motion of matter has its particularity. It is this particularity that determines the qualitative difference between this form of motion and other forms.

Secondly, the contradictions in different processes and stages of the development of things contain within themselves their own particular contradiction. It is this particularity that constitutes the particular essence which distinguishes one thing from another.

Thirdly, there are many contradictions in things and the two aspects of each of the contradictions in that process have their own characteristic particularities. There are differences in the nature of the contradictions, in which some contradictions are antagonistic, and some are non-antagonistic.

The particularity of contradiction is the basis for people to know each aspect and the internal basis for distinguishing and understanding the common essence of things. Adhering to the principle of particularity of contradiction and paying attention to the study of the particularity of any kind of contradiction, we should make concrete analysis of specific problems and solve contradictions of different qualities with different methods.

Both particularity and universality of contradiction also have their interconnection within the object itself.

The universality as well as the particularity of contradiction is inherent in everything. Universality resides in particularity and the particular is united with the universal. The relationship between the universality and the particularity of contradiction is the relationship between the general character and the individual character of contradiction. The universality of contradiction resides in particularity of contradiction while the particularity of contradiction is united with the universality of contradiction. Because the range of things is vast and there is no limit to their development, what is universal in one context becomes particular in another.

The relationship between the universality and particularity of contradictions requires us to discover both the particular and the universal and their interconnection, to discover both particularity and universality and also their interconnection within the object itself, and to discover the interconnections of this object with the many objects outside it. Mao Zedong pointed out: "This truth concerning general and individual character, concerning absoluteness and relativity, is the quintessence of the problem of contradiction in things; failure to understand it is tantamount to abandoning dialectics.”

The principle of the relationship between universality and particularity of contradiction is the important philosophical basis of the ideological principle of combining the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete reality of China established by the CPC.