Motion

Mode of being and inherent attribute of matter; all forms of change and process of things. Engels said: “Motion in the most general sense, conceived as the mode of being, the inherent attribute of matter, comprehends all changes and processes occurring in the universe, from mere change of place right up to thinking.” Motion and matter are inseparable. Motion is the motion of matter. Matter is the subject of all change, the bearer of motion, the real basis of all motion, change and development, and there is no such thing as motion divorced from matter. Matter is matter in motion. There is not, nor can there be, at any time or in any place, matter that is not in motion. Motion, like matter itself, can neither be created nor abolished. “Matter without movement is just as inconceivable as movement without matter.”

The material world is the unity of absolute motion and relative rest. The possibility of relative rest of things is the essential condition for the differentiation of matter. Without relative rest, there would be no diverse material world. But any rest is only relative, and only makes sense for a particular form of motion. Relative rest is a particular state of the motion of things. Motion is eternal, but rest is relative and temporary. Everything is in an eternal motion, and there is no such thing as absolutely static matter.

Material motion has diverse forms. All motion is connected with a certain change of place, but motion does not resolve itself into a change of place or mechanical motion. The nature of an object in motion is derived from the forms of motion, and the different forms and kinds of matter itself can only be known through motion. Material motion develops from the lower, simple forms of motion to the higher, more complex forms. Material motion can change from one form to another, in the basic forms of motion such as mechanical, physical, chemical, biological and social (including the motion of thinking). Material motions of various forms manifest an intrinsic unity due to their interconnection, and display differences and diversity due to their respective characteristics and laws.

Time and space are forms of existence of the motion of matter. Time is the continuity of the motion of matter, and space is the extension and elongation of the motion of matter. Time and space are inseparable from the motion of matter. There is no time and space apart from the motion of matter. The development of modern science has proved that, along with the changes in the motion of matter, time and space have diverse properties, which has deepened the concept of dialectical materialism that time and space and the motion of matter cannot be separated.