Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 9, 2023

 

Labor Becomes Praxis: Its Historical Evolution and Significance

(Abstract)

 

Ding Liqun

 

From ancient Greece through to the Middle Ages, labor was disparaged as the synonym for suffering, pain punishment and a non-human activity. The rise of the bourgeoisie uplifted the status of labor. However, people still regarded labor as a one-dimensional activity of “making things” and neglected its inherent significance of cultivating the human being. Hegel was the first to discuss the significance of labor in terms of human education and emancipation. Marx inherited Hegel’s philosophical thinking on labor critically and elevated labor into praxis in the complete sense. He founded a “labor and society” philosophy of praxis which (1) saw labor praxis as the foundation of human society; (2) constructed the fundamental logic of the unification of “humanity and science” based on the duality of labor; (3) transformed the existing field of the philosophy of praxis by replacing the traditional categories of politics and ethics with the category of “society,” thus expanding the breadth and depth of the philosophy of praxis; (4) reconstructed the ultimate purpose and interest of the philosophy of praxis by replacing political liberation with social liberation, which made praxis philosophy into a theory of proletarian revolution and human liberation.