Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 4, 2024

 

Towards Meta-Philosophy:Praxis, Poièsis and Ontological Residue—A Meta-Philosophical Reading of Lefebvre

(Abstract)

 

Zhang Yibing

 

According to historical materialism, the generative forces that regulate the forms, systems and structures of life in different epochs are, in the final analysis, the ordering of the material productive forces and the formation of production relations under certain historical conditions. Marx and Engels characterized the practice of material production (pratique) as an initiative force, while Lefebvre, in Métaphilosophie, portrays it humanistically as a praxis and poièsis, reflecting a deeper and more original essence than mere material production. However, in reality, the praxis and poièsis, as it should be, devolves into coercive materialistic practices and the ontological residue of economic exchange power dynamics. This “meta-philosophy” of Lefebvre’s theoretical ordering represents the apex of his humanistic philosophical conception. Although Lefebvre’s poetic conception of creation does not align with his later ideological shift towards the methodology of historical materialism, understanding the logic of his theoretical ordering serves as a hidden gateway to truly understanding the theory of spatial production within the framework of historical materialism that he later elucidated.