Measure

The quantitative limits that maintain the stability of a thing is the unity of quality and quantity. The two ends of a measure are called critical points or nodal points; beyond the scope of measure, a thing will transform into another. The German philosopher Hegel made the first systematic study of measure. He defined measure as “the qualitative quantum” and held that “in measure, quality and quantity are in one”. Mao Zedong pointed out: “Have a head for figures.” That is to say, we have to attend to the quantitative aspect of a situation or problem and make a basic quantitative analysis. Every quality manifests itself in a certain quantity, and without quantity there can be no quality. To this day many of our comrades still do not understand that they must attend to the quantitative aspect of things—the basic statistics, the main percentages and the quantitative limits that determine the qualities of things. They have no ‘figures’ in their heads and as a result cannot help making mistakes.”

In measure, quality and quantity are in an inseparable unity. First of all, measure is the mutual combination of quality and quantity. On the one hand, there is quality in quantity, and the quantity present in measure is not a pure quantity, but a quantity with a certain quality; on the other hand, there is quantity in quality, and the quality present in measure is not pure quality, but a quality with a certain quantity. Second, measure is the mutual determination between quality and quantity. Quality determines its opposite quantity, for example liquid water determines that its temperature is between 0°–100°, and quantity also determines its opposite quality, for example 0°–100° determines that the quality opposite to this temperature is liquid water. Quality and quantity are combined with each other and determined by each other, so that the two aspects are in a unified state within the scope of a specific measure and form a unity of quality and quantity by which a thing is what it is. The unity of quality and quantity by which a thing is what it is; once the unity of quality and quantity of a thing splits, that is, the change in quantity exceeds or destroys the measure, a thing will transform into another, and a new unity of quality and quantity will be formed.

The philosophical category of measure enlightens us to master the principle of moderation in recognizing and dealing with problems. As the saying goes, “pay attention to the measure”, “master the crucial moment”, “clearly distinguish the boundaries” and “too far is as bad as not enough”, all these are about correctly knowing and grasping the measure of things and avoiding the errors of “going too far” or “falling short”.