Nature

Also known as “realm of nature”. Nature in the wider sense refers to the objective being of everything that is independent of human consciousness, which is the material world. Nature in the narrower sense refers to everything in the material world that is not created by man and all things outside society. Engels said that the basic question of philosophy is “the question of the relation of thinking to being, the relation of the spirit to nature”. The “nature” mentioned here is nature in the wider sense. It is a concept synonymous with matter and the opposite of consciousness, referring to the sum total of all that exists in the universe, including both nature in the narrower sense and human society; both nature outside man himself and nature of man himself. Engels said: “The whole of nature accessible to us forms a system, an interconnected totality of bodies, and by bodies we understand here all material existence extending from stars to atoms, indeed right to ether particles, insofar as one grants the existence of the last named.” This is the material world in eternal motion, infinite in time and space.

The material world gave rise to man in its long-term development, and human society as an antithesis differentiated itself from nature, thus giving rise to the concept of nature in the narrower sense in relation to human society. Engels said: “In nature—as we ignore man’s reaction upon nature—there are only blind, unconscious agencies acting upon one another, out of whose interplay the general law comes into operation.” Social motion consists of man’s conscious activity, whereas all motion in nature in the narrower sense occurs unconsciously. Human society is dependent on nature. Certain natural conditions are the eternal material presupposition for the existence and development of human society. The natural material conditions that are directly related to human society are also known as the geographical environment. The geographical environment is the sum total of the natural conditions upon which existence and development of mankind depend, and consists of the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere. The geographical environment is the place for the existence of mankind. It provides mankind with the resources for the means of life and material means of production. Different geographical environments accelerate or retard the development of production and society, but they do not determine the nature and direction of society.

As a part of nature, man himself depends on nature, Engels said: “We, with flesh, blood, and brain, belong to nature, and exist in its midst.” As a natural being, man constantly exchanges matter and energy with nature outside himself, and as the basis of the existence and development of human society, productive labor is a particular form of motion of matter in which men interact with the external material world. Marx said: “Labor is at first a process between man and nature, a process by which man mediates, regulates and controls the metabolism with nature through his own actions. He confronts the natural materials as a force of nature.” Nature is not only the historical presupposition for the emergence of mankind, but it is also the actual basis and presupposition for the existence and development of human society.

Nature does not depend on human consciousness for its existence, and has objectivity, priority and originality to human society. Man does not simply adapt to nature passively, but man changes nature through dynamic practice. Nature is not only an object of contemplation to man, but also object of practice. Man participates in the changes of nature as a dynamic subject differentiated from nature. The world around man is not a thing given direct from all eternity, remaining ever the same, but a nature that has been changed in the practice of a whole succession of generations. However, even the nature that is changed by human activity still has objective reality and priority independent from man’s consciousness, and in this respect it does not differ from nature that existed before mankind. A correct knowledge of nature and its relation to human society is of great significance for the existence and development of human society.