Objective Laws

Essential, necessary and stable connections in the process of motion, change and development of things. Laws are objective, and objectivity is the basic characteristic of laws. The existence of laws does not depend on man’s consciousness. Whether people recognize it or not, acknowledge it or not, laws exist and act in a certain way. Men cannot disregard laws, let alone create and abolish them. But this does not mean that people are completely passive, reactive and do nothing in the face of objective laws. In practice, through a large number of external phenomena, men can know or discover objective laws, and exploit this knowledge to guide practice, so as to achieve the end of scientifically and reasonably reshaping nature and society. Men can also change the conditions and forms under which laws act and make things develop in a direction conducive to mankind. Objective laws include both laws of nature and laws of society. Laws of nature are the inherent, essential, necessary, and stable connections of natural phenomena. Laws of society are the essential, necessary, and stable connections between the phenomena in the process of social life manifested through men’s activity. Man’s conscious activity is law-governed and is governed by laws. To know and change nature, it is necessary to respect the laws of nature; to know and change society, it is necessary to respect the laws of society.