Marx And The Tradition Of Western Practical Philosophy

In the context of globalization and the information age,human society has undergone profound changes in the forms of labor,giving rise to new phenomena of alienation.Concurrently,there is a growing emphasis on the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature,as well as on the protection of workers’ dignity and rights.Contemplating and reflecting upon these issues is essentially a discourse on the manner in which humans exist in the world.Marx’s philosophy of praxis is grounded in the essence of human existence,critiques the technical practices of a specific historical epoch of capitalism,integrates ethics with technology,and articulates the mode of human existence within the context of societal practices.Marx posits the praxis of labor as a central concept in the philosophy of praxis,thereby offering a theoretical foundation for grasping the nature of praxis and pondering the principles of social action.Marx’s philosophy of praxis,as a form of theoretical practice,supplies us with profound insights for re-evaluating the nature of praxis and the principles guiding overall social action.Marx’s practical philosophy is closely linked to the Western tradition of practical philosophy.Since Aristotle separated practical philosophy from theoretical philosophy,it has been developed through different periods,gaining various dimensions of interpretation.Aristotle first established the philosophy of politics and ethics,viewing practice as the unconditional and free activity of “being with man.” He emphasized that the cultivation of moral character is integrated into the construction of the city-state community.However,Aristotle excluded production activities from practice,causing the challenging issue of divorcing theory(associated with God)from reality.As social upheavals disrupted the ethical way of life within the city-states,the prelude to the practical philosophical shift commenced.During the Middle Ages,the scope of practice was broadened to include technical production activities.In modern times,F.Bacon argued that the value of science and technology surpasses that of ethics and morality,leading practical philosophy to transition from a super-utilitarian moral philosophy to a utilitarian natural philosophy,marking the advent of the scientific-technological era.Consequently,practical philosophy has given rise to two major traditions:political-ethical and scientific-technological.During the period of classical German philosophy,the two traditions of practical philosophy were divided into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy based on the function of reason.Kant directly understood reason as practical reason,granted it a status in ontology,and continued the connotation of Aristotle’s practical philosophy.Kant conceptualized and confined practice within the scope of morality.In contrast to Kant,who only addressed the question of freedom within reason,Hegel paid greater attention to the practical nature of practice.He believed that a moral law should emerge from the concrete universal spirit of history,culture,and social systems.Hegel proposed that practical reason should be expressed as the logic inherent in things themselves and that the realization of practical reason was concurrent with the exploration of the truth of existence.Hegel discovered that it is through the education derived from labor that the inner spirit of man can grow.For the first time,Hegel elevated labor to the level of philosophy,asserting that labor is a process of spiritual development and the realization of human nature’s essence.Within Hegel’s system,labor is more of an explanation of mental activity than the physical labor of human beings.He understood the realization of human nature as the ascent of individuality to the universal spirit,committing practical philosophy finally to the realization of the unity of the inner and the outer,the subject and the object,and the ethical spirit.From the evolution of traditional practical philosophy,it can be observed that past philosophers generally agreed on the rational nature of human beings.However,they often disconnected the practical relationships between humans and nature,as well as between people.This not only led to a one-sided understanding of practice but also resulted in a split between theory and reality,preventing the full utilization of the real value of practice.With the profound development of practical philosophy,Marx redefined the central topics of practical philosophy and provided a new interpretation of practice from a broader perspective.Marx initially followed Aristotle’s lead by separating practical philosophy from theoretical philosophy.He addresses the separation of theory and reality in traditional practical philosophy,questioning views that confine themselves to rational contemplation.By reinterpreting the relationship between theory and reality,Marx not only lent meaning to theory and practice but also shifted the focus of philosophy to the real world,thereby enriching his core ideas on labor practice.First of all,in Marx’s view,labor is not a part of Hegel’s spiritual self-movement but constitutes the universal essence of man.Labor is what distinguishes man from other living beings;it is the object of his own actions,through which he shapes his life totality,conscious activities,the nature of human development,and the formation of social community,all of which signify that labor is the essence of understanding human nature.Second,labor contributes to the comprehensive self-generation of human beings.Marx deepened Kant’s principle of subjectivity,believing that in labor,people can intuitively self-assess,plan,judge,compare,experiment,and verify under the impulses of demand,and these processes constantly enhance people’s understanding and self-improvement.By emphasizing the value-creating aspect of labor,Marx unified the act of producing goods with the practice of shaping human beings;Finally,labor gives rise to a wide array of social interactions.The economic and spiritual exchanges.Different from the traditional philosophy of practice,Marx combined labor with practice and unified the theory,practice,and creation of the traditional philosophy of practice.In Marx’s theoretical vision,theoretical contemplation does not just stay at the abstract level but directly refers to the real life of human beings.At the same time,Marx believed that the process of human transformation of nature is not only about material production but also the generation of cultural and ethical values.Within this framework,production and practice are intertwined,forming a unified whole.With the continuous advancement of technology,the combination of technical knowledge(theory)and“production” in the modern sense has greatly expanded the boundaries of practice.Labor practices not only create the conditions for harmonious relations between people but also become a necessary means to achieve this goal.For Marx,labor is the integration of “theory-production,” “production-practice,” and “theory-practice.” Eventually,Marx combined Hegel’s spiritual activity with the practice of productive labor,giving labor a broad and profound meaning that was lacking in traditional practical philosophy.Labor is no longer confined to a narrow theoretical category but acquires an ontological status in the practice of production.Marx’s understanding of practice extends beyond the political realm of traditional philosophy to society as a whole,revealing the hypocrisy of political emancipation.The expansion of the field of practice directly refers to a complete social revolution and the emancipation of all mankind.Although there are significant differences between traditional practical philosophy and Marx’s practical philosophy in terms of the connotation of “practice” and the conceptual understanding of the “field of practice,” there is a continuous thread between them: the exploration of self-realization and the nature of society.The difference is that Marx changed the way traditional philosophy thought,shifting the subject of practice from abstract thinking to the real world.He pointed out that all moral reflection can only be realized through real social practice,which is a comprehensive concept encompassing political,economic,cultural,and other aspects and is the totality of human activities.This means that constructing a complete and harmonious field of practical life is consistent with the realization of human nature.Marx and Aristotle share a similar structure in their practical discourse,in that the realization of human freedom necessitates the society’s creation of favorable conditions.However,Aristotle’s understanding of social conditions is confined to the association of individuals that can be freely expressed,whereas Marx’s view centers on the cultivation of human social nature.This implies that,to achieve the full development of human freedom,the rationality integrated into the “new society” must exclude instrumental elements and utilitarian premises.Practical reason should be dedicated to realizing a free life with humanistic goals in a communist society through revolutionary practice,recognizing the creative potential of humans as the foundation of the social system.In this process,Marx established an objective foundation for Aristotle’s practice,established an ethical framework for F.Bacon’s practice,transformed Kant’s spiritual subject into a revolutionary practical one,and translated Hegel’s spiritual labor into the establishment of real labor relations,thus completing a comprehensive creative transformation of the practical philosophical tradition.Marx’s understanding of labor was opposed by some philosophers.They typically viewed labor within the narrow context of alienated labor and considered practice as merely individual moral consciousness.These philosophers failed to grasp the comprehensive significance of Marx’s labor theory.In actuality,Marx categorized alienated labor as merely life-sustaining and as a narrow form of labor as defined by traditional practical philosophy.This narrow labor perspective signifies the erosion of humanity’s free and creative nature during a particular historical era.Hence,the elimination of alienation is essential for achieving a higher expression of human free creation,and Marx’s critique of narrow labor conceptions ultimately gestures toward the broad,free creation of labor.Furthermore,he aimed to establish a practical philosophical paradigm of “labor-society,” thereby upholding human freedom and dignity.