On Contradiction

Mao Zedong’s work which systematically expounded on the law of the unity of opposites, the basic law of materialist dialectics. Written in July 1937, it was included in Chapter III, Section 1 of the Lectures on Dialectical Materialism (Teaching Material), later, after some supplements, deletions and modifications of some parts by Mao Zedong it was compiled into the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Volume 1 under the title of “On Contradiction”.

The work was written after On Practice in order to overcome the serious dogmatism existing in the Communist Party of China and oppose the metaphysical world views, work was given as a speech by Mao Zedong at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University of Yan'an. The work pointed out that the law of contradiction in things, that is, the law of unity of opposites, is the most fundamental law of materialist dialectics. The law of contradiction in things, that is, the law of the unity of opposites, is the fundamental law of nature and of society and therefore also the fundamental development law of thought. The work expounded that dialectics and metaphysics are two opposite world views. The metaphysical or vulgar evolutionist world views sees things as isolated, static and one-sided, and denies that things develop due to their internal contradictions.

Materialist dialectics holds that in order to understand the development of a thing we should study it internally and in its relations with other things; in other words, the development of things should be seen as their internal and necessary self-movement, as the fundamental reason for their development. It holds that external causes are the condition of change and internal causes are the basis of change, and that external causes become operative through internal causes. The work also discussed the universality and particularity of contradiction. 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. There is nothing that does not contain contradiction; without contradiction nothing would exist.

All things should be analyzed by means of contradiction analysis. In order to reveal the particularity of the contradictions in any process in the development of a thing, in their totality or interconnections, that is, in order to reveal the essence of the process, it is necessary to reveal the particularity of the two aspects of each of the contradictions in that process. It is necessary not only to study the particular contradiction and the essence determined thereby of every great system of the forms of motion of matter, but also to study the particular contradiction and the essence of each process in the long course of development of each form of motion of matter. In every form of motion, each process of development which is real (and not imaginary) is qualitatively different. Our study must emphasize and start from this point. Without analyzing the particularity of contradiction, we can't distinguish between different things.

The living soul of Marxism is the concrete analysis of concrete conditions. There are the two processes of cognition: one, from the particular to the general, and the other, from the general to the particular.

Dogmatism refuses to undertake any painstaking study of concrete things, they regard general truths as emerging out of the void, they turn them into purely abstract unfathomable formulas, and thereby completely deny and reverse the normal sequence by which man comes to know truth. Everything contains not only the particularity of contradiction, but also the universality of contradiction. Since the particular is united with the universal and since the universality as well as the particularity of contradiction is inherent in everything, and universality resides in particularity. The relationship between the universality and the particularity of contradiction is the relationship between the general character and the individual character of contradiction.

“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 work discussed the principal contradictions and the principal aspect of the contradiction in the process of the development of things. The principal contradiction whose existence and development determine or influence the existence and development of the other contradictions. To study the contradictions of things, we must distinguish between the principal and secondary contradictions, and try our best to find out the principal contradictions. Once this principal contradiction is grasped, all problems can be readily solved. “Of the two contradictory aspects, one must be principal and the other secondary. The principal aspect is the one playing the leading role in the contradiction.” “The principal and the non-principal aspects of a contradiction transform themselves into each other and the nature of the thing changes accordingly.”

Material exchange between man and nature (metabolism) is a universal and irresistible law in the universe. The work also studied the problem of the identity and struggle of the aspects of a contradiction. The identity of contradiction has two meanings. Firstly, the existence of each of the two aspects of a contradiction in the process of the development of a thing presupposes the existence of the other aspect, and both aspects coexist in a single entity; secondly, in given conditions, each of the two contradictory aspects transforms itself into its opposite. Because certain conditions determine the identity of contradiction, without certain conditions, there will be no identity, "Oppose each other" refers to the mutual exclusion or means the struggle of two contradictory aspects. Struggle is inherent in identity and without struggle there can be no identity. The unity (coincidence, identity, equal action) of opposites is conditional, temporary, transitory, relative. The struggle of mutually exclusive opposites is absolute, just as development and motion are absolute. "The combination of conditional, relative identity and unconditional, absolute struggle constitutes the movement of opposites in all things.” The work also discussed the position of antagonism in contradiction. Antagonism is one form of contradiction and struggle, it is not the only form of contradiction and struggle of opposites. Some contradictions are characterized by open antagonism, others are not.

Finally, the antagonistic contradiction is the contradiction that should be solved in the form of open struggle. In accordance with the concrete development of things, some contradictions which were originally non-antagonistic develop into antagonistic ones, while others which were originally antagonistic develop into non-antagonistic ones. Solutions to contradictions vary according to the nature of the contradictions. Later, Mao Zedong further advanced the theory of correctly handling two different types of contradictions, namely, the correct handling of contradictions among the people and the contradictions between ourselves and the enemy forces in the socialist society in his work “On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People.”

Lenin argued that "dialectics can be briefly defined as a doctrine of unity of opposites. This grasps the kernel of dialectics, but it requires explanations and development."

On Contradiction as grasped this "kernel " and made a comprehensive and systematic exposition of the basic aspect of dialectics, which is an important contribution to Marxist dialectics. Together with On Practice, On Contradiction marked the formation of Mao Zedong's philosophical thought system and laid the foundation for philosophical world views and methodology for the Sinicization of Marxism.