The Generative Logic of Signature Concepts

Engels wrote in his “Speech at the Graveside of Karl Marx” that “in Marx’s view, science is a revolutionary force that drives history forward,” where science refers to both the natural sciences and the philosophical and social sciences. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that “a country’s level of development depends not only on the level of development of its natural sciences but also on the level of development of its philosophical and social sciences,” and that “to accelerate the construction of a Chinese system of philosophical and social sciences with Chinese characteristics is, in the final analysis, to construct an independent knowledge system of China.” To accelerate the construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, “it is necessary to be adept at refining signature concepts and creating new concepts, new categories, and new expressions that are easy for the international community to understand and accept.” Concepts are mental forms that reflect the specific attributes of things; they are both the foundation of judgment, reasoning, and argumentation and the crystallization of judgment, reasoning, and argumentation. Concepts are also important links for us to classify things, organize knowledge structures, remember, think, learn, and exchange information. The construction of institutional facts widely existing in social life must also rely on corresponding concepts. Refining signature concepts for philosophy and social sciences in the New Era is a foundational task in constructing an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences. Signature concepts are not obtained arbitrarily through will and imagination but have their objective generative logic.

恩格斯在《在马克思墓前的讲话》中写道，“在马克思看来，科学是一种在历史上起推动作用的、革命的力量”，这里的科学既指自然科学，也指哲学社会科学。习近平总书记指出，“一个国家的发展水平，既取决于自然科学发展水平，也取决于哲学社会科学发展水平”，“加快构建中国特色哲学社会科学，归根结底是建构中国自主的知识体系”。加快构建中国哲学社会科学自主知识体系，“要善于提炼标识性概念，打造易于为国际社会所理解和接受的新概念、新范畴、新表述”。概念是反映事物特有属性的思维形态，它既是判断、推理和论证的基础，又是判断、推理和论证的结晶。概念还是我们对事物进行分类、组织知识结构、记忆、思考、学习和交流信息的重要纽带，社会生活中广泛存在的制度性事实的建构也必须依赖于相应的概念。提炼新时代哲学社会科学的标识性概念是构建中国哲学社会科学自主知识体系的一项基础性工作，标识性概念不是随心所欲地凭意志和想象就能得到的，而是有其客观的生成逻辑。

Signature concepts are the result of the “integrated generation” of multiple elements

标识性概念是多要素“融通生成的结果”

Knowledge is not a purely subjective state of mind but the result of the integrated generation of multiple elements. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “The actual form of philosophy and social sciences is the result of the integrated generation of various kinds of knowledge, concepts, theories, and methods from ancient to modern times.” This important statement scientifically reveals, at a macro level, the generative elements of the actual form of philosophy and social sciences. Macro forms are composed of micro elements. At the micro level, knowledge is also a composite of multiple elements. People usually consider knowledge to be justified true belief. Belief, truth, and justification are the three elements of knowledge. For any proposition, if you do not believe its content, it cannot constitute your knowledge; if the content you believe is false, it cannot constitute your knowledge either—you are simply mistaken; if your belief lacks legitimate reasons, that is, it is not justified, then it is merely your guess or imagination and cannot constitute your knowledge. Therefore, even for a specific piece of knowledge, it is a composite containing subjective mental states, objective facts, and reasons.

知识不是单纯的主观心灵状态，而是多要素融通生成的结果。习近平总书记指出：“哲学社会科学的现实形态，是古往今来各种知识、观念、理论、方法等融通生成的结果。”这一重要论述从宏观上科学揭示了哲学社会科学现实形态的生成要素。宏观形态由微观元素组成。在微观上，知识也是多要素的复合。人们通常认为知识是得到证成的真信念。相信、真理和证成是知识的三个要素。对任何一个命题而言，如果你不相信其内容，那它就无法构成你的知识；如果你所相信的内容为假，那么它也无法构成你的知识，你只是搞错了；如果你的相信是没有正当理由的，即没有证成的，那么它就只是你的猜测或想象，也无法构成你的知识。因此，单就某一项具体知识而言，它也是包含主观心灵状态、客观事实和理由的复合物。

Concepts, as the foundational building blocks of knowledge, are also the result of the integrated generation of multiple elements. Concepts are the “bricks” and “framework” of knowledge, and knowledge is the “grand edifice” of concepts. Concepts are jointly generated by three elements: “sign,” “thought,” and “referent.” The sign is the linguistic form representing the concept, that is, the words we hear, see, or use; thought is the psychological representation evoked in the mind of the user or receiver of the sign; the referent is the thing in the real world that the sign represents. The sign can only represent the referent through the mediation of “thought,” and this representational relationship is established by convention. Historical tradition, real life, understanding, and interpretation are all constitutive elements in the generation of this representational relationship.

作为知识基础构件的概念也是多要素融通生成的结果。概念是知识的“砖块”和“骨架”，知识是概念的“宏伟建筑”。概念由三个要素共同生成，即“记号”“思想”和“所指对象”。记号是表示概念的语词形式，即我们听到、看到或使用的语词；思想是在记号的使用者或接受者头脑中引起的心理表征；所指对象是记号所代表的现实世界之中的事物。记号只能借由“思想”的中介才能表征所指对象，这种表征关系是约定俗成的。历史传统、现实生活、理解和解释等因素都是表征关系得以生成的构成性要素。

Signature concepts cannot be “isolated monads” existing independently on their own but are the supporting “trunk” of the knowledge system. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that constructing an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences should “take the signature concepts and original theories of each discipline as the trunk.” The metaphor of the “trunk” means that signature concepts play a supporting and shaping role in the structure of the corresponding knowledge system, just as the trunk supports the branches and crown and determines the overall form of the tree; functionally, they play an integrating and conducting role in the corresponding knowledge system, just as the trunk connects scattered branches and leaves into an organic whole and conducts nutrients. Both “signature concepts” and “original theories” are the trunk of the knowledge system to which they belong. The expression of original theories depends on signature concepts; without signature concepts, there are no genuine original theories. Within a knowledge system, signature concepts are the result of the fusion and condensation of factors such as propositions, principles, reasoning, data, and auxiliary concepts.

标识性概念不可能是独立自存的“孤零零的单子”，而是知识体系的支撑性“主干”。习近平总书记指出，构建中国哲学社会科学自主知识体系要“以各学科标识性概念、原创性理论为主干”。“主干”的隐喻意味着，标识性概念在结构上对相应知识体系起着支撑和定型作用，犹如树干支撑树枝和树冠并决定树木的整体形态；在功能上对相应知识体系起着整合和传导作用，犹如树干将分散的枝叶连接为一个有机整体并传导养分。“标识性概念”和“原创性理论”都是其所属知识体系的主干，原创性理论的表述依赖于标识性概念，没有标识性概念也就没有真正的原创性理论。在一个知识体系中，标识性概念是命题、原理、推理、数据和辅助性概念等因素融合凝练而成的结果。

The refinement of signature concepts is a “revolution in terminology”

标识性概念的提炼是“术语的革命”

The refinement of signature concepts is not a language game but the intellectual crystallization of original theories. Without original concepts and theories, there will be no genuine independent knowledge system. The intellectual crystallization of original theories in people’s minds is signature concepts. Engels once said in the preface to the English edition of the first volume of *Capital*: “Every new insight into a science implies a revolution in the terminology of that science.” In this sense, refining signature concepts is to revolutionize the terminology of each discipline.

标识性概念的提炼不是语言游戏，而是原创性理论的思维结晶。没有原创性概念和理论，就不会有真正的自主知识体系，原创性理论在人们头脑中的思维结晶就是标识性概念。恩格斯在《资本论》第一卷的英文版序言中曾说：“一门科学提出的每一种新见解都包含这门科学的术语的革命。”在这个意义上来看，提炼标识性概念就是在对各学科的术语进行革命。

A revolution in terminology reshapes people’s knowledge framework through signature concepts. A revolution in terminology is not just a change in wording but is inseparable from the renewal and generation of original theories. For example, the “price of production” that includes average profit was called “natural price” by Adam Smith, “price of production” or “cost of production” by David Ricardo, and “necessary price” by the Physiocrats. These changes in terminology did not bring about a revolution in terminology because “none of them explained the difference between the price of production and value,” a difference that can only be clearly demonstrated within the analytical framework of Marx’s theory of labor value and theory of surplus value. Within Marx’s entirely new framework of political economy knowledge, concepts such as “value,” “labor,” “wages,” “rent,” and “profit,” which had been used by classical British political economy, acquired revolutionary new meanings.

术语的革命是借由标识性概念来重塑人们的知识框架。术语的革命不只是用语的变化，更离不开原创性理论的更新与生成。比如，包含平均利润的“生产价格”，亚当·斯密叫作“自然价格”，大卫·李嘉图称之为“生产价格”或“生产费用”，重农学派称之为“必要价格”。这些术语的变化并没有带来术语的革命，因为“他们中间谁也没有说明生产价格同价值的区别”，而这种区别只有在马克思的劳动价值论和剩余价值学说的分析框架中才能清晰地展现出来。在马克思全新的政治经济学知识框架下，英国古典政治经济学所使用过的“价值”“劳动”“工资”“地租”“利润”等概念才获得了革命性的新意涵。

The reshaping of the knowledge framework is an organic combination of critique and construction. The reshaping of the knowledge framework is both the correction of erroneous ideas and the confirmation of truth. Erroneous ideas are eliminated through critique, and true cognition is justified through construction. Without “abolishing the old,” it is difficult to “establish the new.” Many of Marx’s works contain the word “critique” in their titles, such as *Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right*; the subtitle of *Capital* is also “A Critique of Political Economy.” Even when the title does not contain the word “critique,” the content must include a critique of erroneous ideas; for example, *The Poverty of Philosophy* is a comprehensive critique of Proudhon’s *The Philosophy of Poverty*. The purpose of critiquing erroneous ideas is to establish correct ideas and to “discover the new world through the critique of the old world.” The process of establishing correct ideas is also the process of constructing signature concepts and original theories. The establishment of signature concepts is not the starting point of research work but the result of research work.

知识框架的重塑是批判与建构的有机结合。知识框架的重塑既是对错误观念的修正，亦是对真理的确证。错误观念在批判中被剔除，真理性认知在建构中得到证成。不“革故”就难以“鼎新”。马克思的诸多著作在名称上都有“批判”二字，如《黑格尔法哲学批判》等，《资本论》的副标题也是“政治经济学批判”；即便书名不含“批判”二字，在内容上也一定含有对错误观念的批判，如，《哲学的贫困》就是对蒲鲁东的《贫困的哲学》的全面批判。批判错误观念的目的在于确立正确的观念，并“通过批判旧世界发现新世界”。确立正确观念的过程也是标识性概念和原创性理论的建构过程，标识性概念的确立不是研究工作的起点，而是研究工作的结果。

“Answering the new questions of the times” is the driving force of thought for refining signature concepts

“解答时代新课题”是提炼标识性概念的致思动力

Questions are problems that need to be answered, and signature concepts are the key nodes of the answers to problems. All epoch-making theories are products of timely and scientific answers to the new questions of the times. New questions of the times are new contradictions that old ideas cannot resolve, major issues raised by changes in the world, changes in the times, and changes in history. “Theoretical innovation can only start from problems.” Major problems give rise to major theoretical innovations; without problems, there is no theoretical innovation. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, “The process of theoretical innovation is the process of discovering problems, screening problems, studying problems, and solving problems.” The theory that answers problems is often a complex network of thought; signature concepts are the concentrated essence and key nodes of this complex network, providing a stable grip for people to understand the entire theory.

课题是需要解答的问题，标识性概念是问题之答案的关键节点。一切划时代的理论都是及时科学解答时代新课题的产物。时代新课题是旧观念解答不了的新矛盾，是世界之变、时代之变和历史之变所提出的重大问题。“理论创新只能从问题开始”，重大问题催生重大理论创新，没有问题就没有理论创新。习近平总书记指出，“理论创新的过程就是发现问题、筛选问题、研究问题、解决问题的过程”。解答问题的理论往往是一整套复杂的思维网，标识性概念是这个复杂网络的浓缩性精华和关键性结点，以便人们在理解整个理论时有稳固的抓手。

Problems that drive thought can be genuine or false. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes that “problems are the form of expression of contradictions

作为致思动力的问题有真伪之别。习近平总书记强调，“问题是事物矛盾的表现形式”。真问题就是现实生活中真实存在的矛盾的表现形式，伪问题是虚假的矛盾的表现形式。没有真问题就没有真学问。马克思曾专门批判过“幻想的问题”、“提得非常错误”的问题、“本身就是抽象的产物”的问题等多种形式的伪问题。对这样的问题，“唯一的答复应当是对问题本身的批判”。具有现实性的真问题都是有答案的。马克思认为，“正如一道代数方程式只要题目出得非常精确周密就能解出来一样，每个问题只要已成为现实的问题，就能得到答案”。在不少人看来，提出问题似乎是比较简单的，而寻求答案是比较困难的。真实情况并非如此。对一个时代的迫切问题而言，“主要的困难不是答案，而是问题”。正确地提出真问题就是周密地界定清楚问题，不但要求所提问题在内容上有根据，问题得以成立的条件无误，还要厘清和明晰问题的构成要素及其可能的解答空间。因此，提出一个新的真问题就“标志着科学的真正进步”。

Genuine problems that serve as the driving force of thought have different levels. Marx once discussed “universal problems,” “principal problems,” and problems “devoid of intellectual content.” For example, Marx believed that only “the critique of political emancipation itself” could make the Jewish question a “universal problem of the age”; “the relation of the whole sphere of wealth to the sphere of politics is one of the principal problems of modern times”; yet the question of “whether philosophy and religion should be discussed in newspapers” is a problem “devoid of intellectual content.” [2]2 The original text references Marx’s “On the Jewish Question” and “The Holy Family,” among other works, where he distinguishes between different types of problems. True signature concepts are the conceptual condensation of answers to universal problems or principal problems; problems devoid of intellectual content should be eliminated due to the nature of the problem itself. The “questions of China, questions of the world, questions of the people, and questions of the era” spoken of by General Secretary Xi Jinping are precisely the “universal problems” and “principal problems” that we need to profoundly answer.

作为致思动力的真问题有着不同的层次。马克思曾谈论过“普遍问题”“主要问题”和“无思想内容”的问题。比如，马克思认为“只有对政治解放本身的批判”才能使犹太人问题成为“当代的普遍问题”，“整个财富领域对政治领域的关系，是现代主要问题之一”，然而“应该不应该在报纸上讨论哲学和宗教”的问题却是个“毫无思想内容”的问题。真正的标识性概念是普遍问题或主要问题之答案的概念化凝结，无思想内容的问题因问题本身的性质而应被取消。习近平总书记所说的“中国之问、世界之问、人民之问、时代之问”，正是我们需要深刻解答的“普遍问题”和“主要问题”。

The Two Integrations are the fundamental guideline for refining signature concepts

“两个结合”是提炼标识性概念的根本遵循

Concrete reality, theoretical guidance, and traditional resources constitute the three-dimensional space of reasons for concept generation. Without concrete reality, that is, people’s life and practice, concepts lose the object they reflect; without theoretical guidance, the refinement of concepts loses its direction and becomes confused and at a loss; without traditional resources, the refinement of concepts loses its roots and cultural nourishment. The Two Integrations scientifically combine these three dimensions, providing the fundamental guideline for the refinement of signature concepts.

具体实际、理论指引和传统资源是概念生成的三维理由空间。离开了具体实际，即人们的生活和实践，概念就失去了反映的对象；离开了理论指引，概念提炼就失去了方向，变得迷茫无措；离开传统资源，概念提炼就失去了根脉和文化滋养。“两个结合”将这三个维度科学地结合在一起，为标识性概念的提炼提供了根本遵循。

The Two Integrations are the inherent requirement of the dialectical process of concept development. Marx believed that human cognition is a dialectical process from the sensuously concrete to abstract thought, and then to thought-concrete. Human cognition should “start from the real and concrete, from the real premises,” that is, from the sensuously concrete. The human mind is not a “blank slate” devoid of anything; our observation of any thing is necessarily theoretically laden and traditionally culturally laden, and people from different cultural and theoretical backgrounds will observe different content. The perception of the “real and concrete” still remains at the stage of perceptual cognition; “from the concrete in representation to ever thinner abstractions, until I have arrived at the simplest determinations,” this reaches the stage of abstract concepts, but cognition is not yet complete; it is necessary to synthesize many abstract determinations and relations into a “rich totality,” which is the thought-concrete, i.e., the concrete concept. Whether it is obtaining abstract concepts through analysis or rising from abstract thought to thought-concrete, both require the guidance of scientific theory and the cultivation of excellent traditional culture.

“两个结合”是概念发展辩证过程的内在要求。马克思认为人的认识是从感性具体到思维抽象、再到思维具体的辩证过程。人的认识应“从实在和具体开始，从现实的前提开始”，即从感性具体开始。人的心灵并非什么都没有的“白板”，我们对任何事物的观察都必然有理论负载和传统文化负载，不同文化和理论背景的人会观察到不同的内容。对“实在和具体”的感知还停留在感性认识阶段，“从表象中的具体达到越来越稀薄的抽象，直到我达到一些最简单的规定”，这就到了抽象概念的阶段，但认识尚未完成，还需要把许多抽象的规定和关系综合成“丰富的总体”，这就是思维具体，即具体概念。无论是通过分析得到抽象概念，还是从思维抽象上升到思维具体，都需要有科学理论的指导和优秀传统文化的涵养。

Signature concepts are not abstract concepts, but concrete concepts that vividly embody the methodology of the Two Integrations. Abstract concepts are the lower stage of concept refinement; they are formed by means of the analytical capacity of the understanding, manifesting as “discarding part of the diversity possessed by the concrete thing and only picking out one of its aspects; or obliterating the differences among diversities and mixing multiple determinations into one.” Concrete concepts are the higher stage of concept refinement; they are formed on the basis of analysis by employing the synthetic capacity of reason, unifying the abstract determinations of a thing according to the original state of the thing, and forming a conceptual whole without adding anything subjective. The signature concepts of the independent knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences are not simple abstract determinations, but concrete concepts containing multiple factors and links; the formation and content of concrete concepts themselves inherently contain the internal determinacy of the Two Integrations.

标识性概念不是抽象概念，而是生动体现“两个结合”方法论的具体概念。抽象概念是概念提炼的低级阶段，它是凭借理智的分析能力而形成的，表现为“丢掉具体事物所具有的一部分多样性而只举出其一种；或是抹煞多样性之间的差异性，而把多种的规定性混合为一种”。具体概念是概念提炼的高级阶段，它是在分析的基础上运用理性的综合能力，将事物的抽象规定按事物的原样统一起来，结成一个概念上的整体，而不添加任何主观的东西。中国哲学社会科学自主知识体系的标识性概念不是简单的抽象规定，而是包含多方面因素和环节的具体概念，而具体概念的形成和内容本身就蕴含了“两个结合”的内在规定性。

(Author: Wen Xueping, Professor at the Research Center for Marxist Legal Philosophy, Southwest University of Political Science and Law)

（作者：文学平，系西南政法大学马克思主义法哲学研究中心教授）