Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.11, 2020

 

The Futuristic Dimension of Historical Materialism

(Abstract)

 

Kuang Sanping

 

Before the establishment of historical materialism, futurity had met with a philosophical fate of historical frozenness and intuitive dissolution. The historical materialism created by Marx and Engels opened up a new means of redeeming futurity. For the first time, people and their future development as self-contained, purposeful, and transcendental existences emerged on the horizon of historical materialism for philosophical contemplation, as the consciousness of transcendence, freedom and hope generated by human history were incorporated into real activities with real understandings, thus opening up a new path and new theoretical horizon for the research of futurity. It could be said that the issue of futurity is an inevitable ideological extension and logical development of the theory of historical materialism. Futurity focuses on expressing the intention of the ontology of historical materialism, the spirit of practical criticism, and the complex of ultimate concern. In-depth research on this topic can not only highlight the important position of futurity in historical materialism, but also reconsider and scrutinize the complete significance of historicity and reality in historical materialism starting from futurity.