Mao’s Methodology and Point of Departure

Abstract

The importance of methodology in philosophy has long been recognized. Not only is a philosophy conditioned by its method, but also the very method becomes an integral part of that philosophy. This is especially true of Mao’s philosophy and methodology. Both Mao’s philosophy and methodology are ‘unsystematic’ or ‘unstructured’ in the sense that they are not formulated in any systematic treatise — as is so common in Western philosophy. In this chapter, we are mainly concerned with Mao’s methodology, which will be explained in three parts. We shall begin with the textual basis for Mao’s method, contained in his various philosophical writings. Then we shall present Mao’s methodology itself, extracted or derived from these philosophical writings. Finally, we shall discuss Mao’s point of departure. All this serves as a necessary background for understanding Mao’s theory of dialectic.