Objectivity of Logic

The thought that people, through the abstract process of thinking and certain rules, grasp the essence and laws of objective things in eternal movement and development. Logical thinking is subjective in form and objective in content.

Idealist logic regards the form and law of thinking as something separated from the objective world. It is argued that one can establish laws and rules of thinking by one’s own nature, regardless of whether these laws and rules conform to objective reality. Idealist logic is not to link people with objective things, but to separate and oppose the two. Materialist logic holds that the form and law of thinking are the reflection of objective things. The purpose of human cognition is to correctly reflect things, grasp the objective laws and carry out correct practical activities. Materialist logic connects human beings with objective things to help people correctly understand objective laws and transform the world.

Logical law is the reflection of objective things by people’s subjective consciousness and the unity of subjectivity and objectivity. Lenin pointed out that: “Logical concepts are subjective so long as they remain ‘abstract’, in their abstract form, but at the same time they express the Thing-in-themselves. Nature is both concrete and abstract, both phenomenon and essence, both moment and relation. Human concepts are subjective in their abstractness, separateness, but objective as a whole, in the process, in the sum-total, in the tendency, in the source.” Lenin said the Thing-in-itself of Kant is an empty abstraction, while Hegel required an abstraction consistent with the essence: the objective concept of a thing constitutes the essence of the thing itself. Place Hegel’s view of objective idealism upon its feet. According to the materialist view, logical abstraction must be consistent with our understanding of the objective world and with the development law of objective things. To wit, the subjective and objective should be in consistency.

The objectivity of logic is a dialectical process that develops with the development of people’s social practice, not a process that can be completed at one time. Lenin emphasized that: “The abstraction of matter, of a law of nature, the abstraction of value, etc., in short all scientific (correct, serious, not absurd) abstractions reflect nature more deeply, truly and completely. From living perception to abstract thought, and from this to practice—such is the dialectical path of the cognition of truth, of the cognition of objective reality.” Hegel’s dialectical logic was a great progress in the history of knowledge. He replaced Kant’s detachment of logic from nature with the principle of “identity of thought and existence”. However, Hegel’s objective idealist dialectics held that the logic of thinking, concepts and ideas is the source and foundation of the material world. He formulated his dialectical logic on the basis of objective idealist dialectics. The dialectical logic of Marxism reflects objective things and their laws and is a dialectical process that deepens with practice.

The objective truth of logic must be tested through practice. The objectivity of logic comes from and develops with human practice. The objective truth of logic must also be tested through practice. Human practice is the criterion of testing the objective truth of knowledge.

A correct understanding of the objectivity of logic is helpful to adhere to the unity of subjective and objective, logic and history, practice and theory in practice, and adhere to practice as the only criterion of testing the objective truth of logic. We should oppose not only the logical views of non-logicism, irrationalism and intuitionism, but also metaphysical logical views such as bookishness and dogmatism.