Synthesis

An approach to link the understanding of each part, aspect and attribute of a thing into an organic and unified whole in thinking to grasp the essence and objective law of a thing as a whole. Objective things are an organic whole composed of many parts, aspects and attributes. Synthesis is not a mechanical patchwork and superposition of these parts, aspects and attributes, but a reproduction of the internal organic connection of things in thinking to achieve a comprehensive and specific understanding of things. In the history of western philosophy, rationalists put emphasis on synthesis and regarded it as the only way to obtain truth. R. Descartes attached great importance to the study of epistemology and methodology and focused on the study of rational deduction and synthesis. He argued that the only way to obtain correct ideas is rational intuition. Only by using synthesis can we know the truth. He derived the concept of talent from rational intuition and innate synthesis ability, believing that once people use reason, they can discover the concept of talent. Descartes tried hard to overcome the one-sidedness of empiricists, which emphasized perceptual experience, analysis and induction, while neglecting rational intuition, synthesis and deduction, yet he also fell into one-sidedness. B. Spinoza’s epistemology was permeated with an integrated or systematic thought that attaches importance to synthesis. He argued that nature is an organic whole, and no specific thing in the world can be outside this whole, nor can it exist in isolation from its causal connection with other things. Therefore, a synthetic, systematic and integrated approach must be adopted to study specific things. Rationalists regard synthesis as the most perfect way to obtain truth. Hegel regarded external things as the result of the externalization of ideas, and regarded the analysis and synthesis of things as the process of the movement and development of ideas in various links. He argued that the philosophical method should be “both analytical and synthetic”. He regarded analysis and synthesis as absolute concepts rather than the internal stipulation of objective things and fell into the theoretical misunderstanding of objective idealism. Engels criticized the abstract and absolutely synthetic thinking methods in the field of natural science. He pointed out that for synthetic natural science, even in each individual department, the abstract identity is completely inadequate; although in general, this abstract identity had now been ruled out in practice, it still dominated people’s minds in theory. Objective things are the unity of diversity and contradiction. When understanding objective things, we must adopt the method of combining analysis with synthesis, instead of one-sided synthetic research.

Materialist dialectics holds that objective things are a dialectical unity and must be investigated by a comprehensive method that combines all parts, aspects and attributes of things into a whole. Marx pointed out that the concrete concept is concrete because it is a synthesis of many definitions, thus representing the unity of diverse aspects. It appears therefore in reasoning as a summing-up, a result, and not as the starting point, although it is the real point of origin, and thus also the point of origin of perception and imagination. The concrete concept is a “synthesis of many definitions”, so a comprehensive approach based on analysis must be used to grasp every part, aspect and attribute of things and thus understand the things comprehensively, systematically and as a whole. Engels stressed that only by grasping things as a whole can one overcome one-sidedness in cognition. To achieve this, one must adopt a comprehensive approach: In order to understand something as a whole, one must even study it from two perspectives before all results can be integrated. However, if we hold one point of view unilaterally and think it is absolute compared with another point of view, or if we arbitrarily jump from one point of view to another out of the temporary reasoning need, we will fall into the one-sidedness of metaphysical thinking. If we cannot grasp the overall connections, we will be entangled in one contradiction after another. Synthesis is an important thinking method to grasp the integrity of objective things in a coherent, comprehensive and systematic way, which helps prevent the one-sidedness of metaphysics that only grasping a part instead of the whole.

Lenin revealed the important position of synthesis in materialist dialectics in “Elements of Dialectics”. He argued that this link, which is both analytical and synthetic, is a “dialectical link”. He emphasized that “the union of analysis and synthesis” is “the elements of dialectics”. Lenin listed 16 elements of dialectics, including the entire totality of the manifold relations of this thing to others; the thing (phenomenon, etc.) as the sum and unity of opposites; the union of analysis and synthesis—the break-down of the separate parts and the totality, the summation of these parts; the relations of each thing are not only manifold, but general, universal; each thing is connected with every other, etc. Lenin understood synthesis combined with analysis and as the entire totality of the manifold relations of this thing to others, the sum and unity of opposites, the totality and summation of parts, and connections between everything. He regarded synthesis as the reappearance of the innate and organic connections of things in human thinking, and a comprehensive and concrete understanding of things. His discussions on synthesis enriched and developed the theory of knowledge of dialectical materialism.

Materialist dialectics regards analysis and synthesis as two interrelated aspects in the process of cognition and regards the dialectical unity of the two as a basic thinking method. The dialectical relationship between analysis and synthesis is interdependent, mutual-infiltrating and mutual-transforming. The two are interdependent and mutually premised. Without analysis there is no synthesis, and vice versa. There is synthesis in analysis and analysis in synthesis. People’s understanding of the process of things from phenomena to essence is manifested in the dialectical, mutual-transforming and progressive movement of analysis—synthesis—re-analysis—re-synthesis. In the process of dialectical thinking, analysis and synthesis must be based on the nature, structure, relationship, movement and change of objective things, and must adhere to the law of unity of opposites to understand objects.