Materialist Dialectics Controversy Research

The controversy on Dialectic of Materialism happened in the 1930s, it focus on these philosophical subjects: substance and function of Dialectic of Materialism, whether philosophy will die, relations between dialectical logic and formal logic, the questions on epistemology, philosophy and historical view. Hu Shi and Zhang Dongsun began the controversy. It was mainly composed of six lines: i.e. between Marxists and Zhang Dongsun School, between Ye Qing and Zhang Dongsun School, between Marxists and Ye Qing, between scholars from different fields and Ai Siqi, Ye Qing's critics on philosophical system of Zhang Dongsun, and between different Marxists (This dissertation discusses only the first four).Whether Dialectic of Materialism treated as truth and methods could be applied to the behavior of Practical Subject was the focus of controversy. Nevertheless those discussions extended around relations between "Purified Philosophy" and "Practical Philosophy", "Philosophy" and "Science". Marxist scholars, such as Deng Yunte, Chen Boda, Xiu Xia, Ruo Ying, Jiang Qi, firmly rebutted the critics and challenges of Zhang Dongsun and Fu Tongxian on Dialectic of Materialism. Ai Siqi and Shen Zhiyuan systematically analyzed and criticized the "death of theory of philosophy" and "theory of mind-object synthesis", rebutted some scholars' had unkind minds stigmatization on Marxist Philosophy, classified some theoretical questions confused, defended theory of Marxist philosophy, and got rid of the barriers for Mao Zedong's On Practice and On Contradiction, pushed the development of Marxist Philosophy. The controversy played a key role in making Marxist philosophy and became the mainstream and the leading view of Chinese modern philosophy.The author believed that struggle between "professional philosopher's" (insisted by people such as Zhang Dongsun) "Purified philosophy", "special philosophy" and Marxism's "Practical philosophy", "Revolutionary philosophy", in fact was the struggle of two kind meaning of existence between "transcending" and "epochal character". The choice of the history proved again the important significance of philosophical "epochal character", it said, only those philosophies that could fulfill the needs of history and age could survive and develop.Reality significance of the controversy lies in special historical stage, "epochal character" is more important than "transcending", but "transcending" can not be replaced by the former. What philosophy on earth we need will be decided by the tasks of our time. The modernization and Sinicization of philosophy can not be finished through book, it must through practice. Therefore, this controversy is still closely relevant with Chinese philosophy in new century and the development of world philosophy.