A Philosophical Critique of Contradiction

Abstract

Mao’s concept of contradiction is not only the key to his theory of dialectic, but also the very kernel of his entire philosphy, and indeed, of the entire body of his thought and political activities. To explain this central term, however, we will begin with a presentation of ‘dialectical ideas’ in Chinese thought (which is necessary for our discussion both in this chapter and in the next). The presentation aims to show that while there is no systematic, continuous development of ‘dialectic’ as a philosophical term, method or system throughout the history of Chinese philosophy, Chinese thought as a whole is essentially dialectical. To substantiate this claim we will discuss six philosophical ideas (contained in various schools) with the implicit premise that although they are not directly related to each other, they together constitute a ‘dialecticality’ or ‘relationality’ which is a distinguishing characteristic of Chinese thought. Only in the light of all this, will we be able to make a critique of Mao’s concept of contradiction as a philosophical term.