The Materialist Conception of History as a Historical Science

*The German Ideology*, as the birthplace of the materialist conception of history, contains the key to understanding and grasping the entire content of the materialist conception of history. In a note in *The German Ideology*, Marx clarifies the fundamental difference between the materialist conception of history and old philosophy, as well as its essential character as a historical science. Marx points out: “We know only a single science, the science of history. History can be examined from two sides, it can be divided into the history of nature and the history of mankind. However, the two sides are inseparable; as long as men exist, the history of nature and the history of mankind mutually condition each other. The history of nature, what is called natural science, we do not deal with here; what we need to study in depth is the history of mankind, for almost the entire ideology either distorts the history of mankind or completely abstracts from it.” [1]1 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The German Ideology* (including the note on “the science of history” from the deleted manuscript). This deleted manuscript contains important content for understanding the nature of the materialist conception of history, namely that history is the unity of the history of nature and the history of mankind, and therefore the science of history is the science of man and his entire world of existence. Yet the whole of old philosophy “either distorts the history of mankind or completely abstracts from it.” Hence, the creation of the materialist conception of history is based on the critique of old philosophy.

《德意志意识形态》作为唯物史观的诞生地，包含着理解和把握唯物史观全部内容的钥匙。在《德意志意识形态》的一个注释中，马克思明确了唯物史观与旧哲学的根本差别，及其作为历史科学的根本性质。马克思指出：“我们仅仅知道一门唯一的科学，即历史科学。历史可以从两方面来考察，可以把它划分为自然史和人类史。但这两方面是不可分割的；只要有人存在，自然史和人类史就彼此相互制约。自然史，即所谓自然科学，我们在这里不谈；我们需要深入研究的是人类史，因为几乎整个意识形态不是曲解人类史，就是完全撇开人类史。”在这一删除的手稿中，包含着理解唯物史观性质的重要内容，即历史是自然史与人类史的统一，因而历史科学是关于人及其整个存在世界的科学，但整个旧哲学“不是曲解人类史，就是完全撇开人类史”。因此，唯物史观的创立是以批判旧哲学为基础的。

The Critique of Old Philosophy

对旧哲学的批判

In Marx’s view, the most fundamental problem of old philosophy is that it does not understand the history of mankind. Specifically, old materialism abstracts from the history of mankind, while idealism distorts it.

在马克思看来，旧哲学最为根本的问题就是不理解人类史。具体而言，就是旧唯物主义撇开了人类史，而唯心主义则曲解了人类史。

Marx believes that in its initial formative period, old materialism, with its attention to sensuous, actual life, understood man and his actual world. This is manifested in two aspects: First, in Bacon, materialism still contains the seeds of comprehensive development in a naive form. Matter is still a sensuous existence with impulse, vitality, and tension, still “smiles at man with the poetic-sensuous glow of the whole of man.” [2]2 Marx’s description of Bacon’s materialism in *The Holy Family*. Second, materialism is a theoretical system that resists metaphysics, subsuming actual life practice into a system and demonstrating it theoretically. Locke’s *An Essay Concerning Human Understanding* is such a system, and thus it “was welcomed like a long-awaited guest.” [3]3 Marx’s characterization of the reception of Locke’s *Essay Concerning Human Understanding* in *The Holy Family*. However, in its subsequent development, materialism began to construct its system according to mathematical forms, so that “sensuousness lost its vivid colors and became the abstract sensuousness of the geometrician. Physical motion was sacrificed to mechanical or mathematical motion; geometry was proclaimed the principal science. Materialism became misanthropic.” [4]4 Marx’s critique of the later development of materialism in *The Holy Family*. In this misanthropic materialism, it is impossible to include the content of the history of mankind, because it fundamentally does not understand actual man and his life-world.

马克思认为，旧唯物主义在其最初形成时期，以其对感性的、现实生活的关注来理解人及其现实的世界。这表现在两个方面：其一，唯物主义在培根那里，还以朴素的形式包含着全面发展的萌芽。物质还是具有冲动、活力、张力的感性存在，还“带着诗意的感性光辉对整个人发出微笑”。其二，唯物主义是反抗形而上学、把现实的生活实践归纳为一个体系并从理论上加论证的理论体系。洛克的《人类理智论》就是这样的体系，因而“像人们翘首以待的客人一样受到了热烈的欢迎”。但是，唯物主义在后来的发展过程中开始按照数学的形式来建构自己的体系，从而“感性失去了它的鲜明色彩，变成了几何学家的抽象的感性。物理运动成为机械运动或数学运动的牺牲品；几何学被宣布为主要的科学。唯物主义变得漠视人了”。在这种敌视人的唯物主义中是不可能包含人类史的内容的，因为它们根本不理解现实的人及其生活世界。

Although idealism touched upon the content of the history of mankind, it only developed human subjectivity abstractly, because “idealism does not know actual, sensuous activity as such.” [5]5 Marx’s first thesis on Feuerbach. Whether subjective idealism or objective idealism, they share a common characteristic: the belief that ideas rule the actual world. Not only the entire material world, but also the whole of history, is governed by ideas, thoughts, concepts, etc. Actual man and the actual world are products of ideas, not the other way around. Therefore, in idealism, the history of mankind is abstractly understood as the evolutionary history of the human spirit, which is merely “an abstract, logical, speculative expression for the movement of history.” [6]6 Marx’s critique of Hegelian philosophy in the *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844*.

虽然唯心主义触及了人类史的内容，但只是抽象地发展了人的主体性，因为“唯心主义是不知道现实的、感性的活动本身的”。无论是主观唯心主义还是客观唯心主义，其有一个共同的特点就是认为观念统治着现实的世界，不仅整个物质世界，而且整个历史，都是由观念、想法、概念等支配着，现实的人和现实的世界都是观念的产物，而不是相反。因此，在唯心主义那里，人类史被抽象地理解为人类精神的演化史，这不过是“为历史的运动找到抽象的、逻辑的、思辨的表达”。

In Marx’s view, the fundamental reason old philosophy cannot truly understand and grasp the history of mankind is that it does not comprehend the foundational role of “revolutionary,” “practical-critical” activity for man and his life-world. “This activity, this continuous sensuous labor and creation, this production, is the foundation of the whole existing sensuous world”; [7]7 Marx and Engels, *The German Ideology*. if this activity were to cease for even a year, the actual world and man’s existence would be impossible. Therefore, understanding and grasping actual man and his world can only proceed from actual man and his activity. It is precisely by grasping actual individuals and their practical activity that Marx truly transcends the whole of old philosophy and inaugurates the materialist conception of history.

在马克思看来，旧哲学之所以不能真正理解和把握人类史，究其根本是它们不懂得“革命的”“实践批判的”活动对于人及其生活世界存在的根基性。“这种活动、这种连续不断的感性劳动和创造、这种生产，正是整个现存的感性世界的基础”，这种活动哪怕只停顿一年，现实的世界及人的存在也就不可能了。因此，对于现实的人及其世界的理解和把握，只能从现实的人及其活动出发。正是由于把握了现实的个人及其实践活动，马克思真正超越了整个旧哲学而开创了唯物史观。

The Materialist Conception of History Is the Science of Man

唯物史观就是关于人的科学

Starting from actual individuals and their activity to understand and grasp history is the fundamental characteristic that distinguishes the materialist conception of history from previous conceptions of history. In its essence, the materialist conception of history is the historical science of man; it is the understanding and grasp of the historical process in which man continuously generates and creates himself through his own object-oriented practical activity.

从现实的个人及其活动出发去理解和把握历史，是唯物史观不同于以往历史观的根本特征。就其本质而言，唯物史观就是人的历史科学，是对人通过自身的对象性实践活动不断地自我生成、自我创造的历史过程的理解和把握。

First, the object of study of the materialist conception of history is actual man and his activity. The materialist conception of history proceeds from actual premises, and this premise is man, “but not man in some fantastic isolation and fixity, but man in his actual, empirically perceptible process of development under definite conditions.” [8]8 Marx and Engels, *The German Ideology*. This man is not an abstract man, but a concrete man engaged in productive activity in a specific historical epoch. Therefore, historical research does not start from a theory or concept external to history, but from history itself; that is, to study the history of a particular epoch, one must concretely analyze the actual social life of the people of that epoch. As long as this actual process of social life is described, the history of that epoch can be grasped. Hence, actual individuals as the starting point of the materialist conception of history are not an abstract concept used to unfold logical deduction, but a categorical imperative: historical research must be rooted in the practical analysis of people’s specific productive life.

第一，唯物史观的研究对象是现实的人及其活动。唯物史观是从现实的前提出发的，这个前提就是人，“但不是处在某种虚幻的离群索居和固定不变状态中的人，而是处在现实的、可以通过经验观察到的、在一定条件下进行的发展过程中的人”。这个人，并不是一个抽象的人，而是具体的、历史时代中从事生产活动的人。因此，历史研究并不是从一个外在于历史的理论或概念出发，而是从历史本身出发，即研究哪个时代的历史，就要去具体地分析那个时代人们的现实社会生活。只要描述出这个现实的社会生活过程，也就能够把握那个时代的历史了。因此，现实的个人作为唯物史观的出发点，并不是一个借以展开逻辑推演的抽象概念，而是一个绝对命令，那就是历史研究必须植根于对人们具体的生产生活的实践分析之中。

Second, the dual relations unfolded in human practical activity and the movement of their mutual influence constitute the basic theoretical logic of the materialist conception of history. In *The German Ideology*, through an analysis of the activity of actual man, Marx reveals the premises of the existence of human history: production to satisfy basic survival needs, the production of new needs, and the production of other people’s lives. He clearly points out the dual relations contained therein—natural relations and social relations—thus forming the dialectical movement of productive forces and relations of production, economic base and superstructure, as well as the basic theories of the materialist conception of history such as the evolution of forms of human society. Two points require special attention here: First, the production Marx speaks of is not only the production of material goods but also the production of man—the production of one’s own life and the production of others’ lives. Hence, this production contains all human relations, whether relations of man to man or man to nature. The purpose of production is not only to satisfy man’s material subsistence needs but, more importantly, to reproduce man himself and all his social relations. That is to say, an absolutely objective material production process independent of human activity simply does not exist. Only by grasping this can one avoid an economic-determinist interpretation of the materialist conception of history. Second, the materialist conception of history’s explanation of man and his historical activity is neither a definite theoretical conclusion nor a recipe or formula to be applied everywhere, but rather a basic theoretical principle and method for understanding and grasping human history. Only by following this theoretical principle and method to concretely analyze the social life of people in a specific epoch and its transformation in human practice can a genuine understanding of human history be formed.

第二，在人的实践活动中展开的双重关系及其相互影响的运动，构成了唯物史观的基本理论逻辑。在《德意志意识形态》中，马克思通过对现实的人的活动的分析，揭示了人类历史存在的前提，即满足基本生存需要的生产、新的需要的生产和他人生命的生产，并明确指出其中包含着的双重关系——自然关系和社会关系，由此形成了生产力与生产关系、经济基础与上层建筑的辩证运动，以及人类社会形态演进等唯物史观的基本理论。这里有两点需要特别注意：其一，马克思所说的生产不仅是物质资料的生产，还是人的生产——自己生命的生产和他人生命的生产，因而在这种生产中包含着全部的人的关系，无论是人对人的关系还是人对自然的关系。生产的目的不仅是满足人的物质生存需要，更为重要的是要将人自身及人的全部社会关系再生产出来。也就是说，那种独立于人的活动之外的、绝对客观的物质生产过程是根本不存在的。只有把握了这一点，才能避免对唯物史观的经济决定论解释。其二，唯物史观对人及其历史性活动的解释既不是一个确定的理论结论，也不是一个可以到处去套用的药方或公式，而毋宁说是理解和把握人类历史的基本理论原则和方法。只有遵循这一理论原则和方法具体地分析特定时代人们的社会生活及其在人的实践中的变革，才能形成对人类历史的真正理解。

Third, the future orientation of the materialist conception of history is human liberation. If the materialist conception of history is the theoretical principle and method of the historical science of man, then this principle and method are also derived from the analysis of man’s object-oriented practical essence and his self-generating activity. In *The German Ideology*, Marx demonstrates the ultimate goal of human history from two different dimensions: theoretical logic and analysis of the actual historical process. The former, through an analysis of the possibility of alienation and its elimination, reveals the relationship between world history and communism, thereby clarifying that its future orientation is human liberation. The latter, through an analysis of relations of production since the rise of capitalism, elucidates the relationship between individual labor and social wealth in actual social production, and clearly points out that the common appropriation of social productive forces by associated individuals is the path to realizing human liberation. It is precisely through this dual-dimensional analysis that the materialist conception of history’s analysis of human liberation gains a solid foundation, pointing the way for the future development of human history.

第三，唯物史观的未来指向是人的解放。如果说唯物史观是关于人的历史科学的理论原则和方法，那么这种原则和方法也是从对人的对象性实践本质及其自我生成的活动的分析中得出的。在《德意志意识形态》中，马克思从理论逻辑和现实历史进程的分析两个不同维度论证了人类历史的最终目的，前者表现为通过对异化及其消除的可能性的分析，揭示了世界历史与共产主义的关系，从而明确了其未来指向是人的解放；后者则是对资本主义兴起以来生产关系的分析，阐明了在现实的社会生产中个体劳动与社会财富之间的关系，并明确指出，联合起来的个人对社会生产力的共同占有是实现人的解放的途径。正是通过这种双重维度的分析，使唯物史观对人的解放的分析获得了坚实的基础，为人类历史的未来发展指明了方向。

Therefore, whether in its starting point, its process, or its ultimate goal, historical materialism takes human beings and their existence as its object. It is thus a science of humanity, a science of the historicity of human beings and their world’s existence, and the unity of the science of humanity and the science of history.

因此，唯物史观无论是其起点、过程还是最终目的，都是以人及其存在为对象的，因而是关于人的科学，是关于人及其世界存在的历史性的科学，是人的科学与历史科学的统一。

The Unity of the Science of Humanity and the Science of History

人的科学与历史科学的统一

Although Marx, in order to critique old philosophy, particularly emphasized that “what we need to study in depth is human history,” to grasp the nature of historical materialism as a historical science, we must return to the unity of natural history and human history, and cannot stop merely at an understanding of human history. For only on the basis of the unity of natural history and human history can we truly understand the unique essence of historical materialism.

尽管马克思为了批判旧哲学而特别强调了“我们需要深入研究的是人类史”，但为了把握唯物史观的历史科学性质，我们还是要回到自然史与人类史的统一，而不能仅停留于对人类史的理解。因为只有在自然史与人类史统一的基础上，我们才能真正理解唯物史观的独特本质。

In Marx’s view, history itself includes natural history and human history; as long as human beings exist, these two aspects mutually condition each other. Because natural history and human history are merely two aspects of the same process of human activity, only by unifying the two can we constitute genuine history and truly understand history.

在马克思看来，历史本身包含着自然史和人类史，只要有人存在，这两个方面就是彼此相互制约的。因为自然史和人类史不过是同一个人类活动过程的两个方面，只有把二者统一起来，才能构成真正的历史，才能真正理解历史。

Natural history—that is, so-called natural science itself—is the science of humanity. On the one hand, humanity is the direct object of natural science. For humanity itself is part of nature; only in nature can human sensuousness obtain real existence, can it be objectively realized in natural objects, and only with the aid of natural science can an understanding of humanity’s own existence be formed. On the other hand, nature is the direct object of the science of humanity, because nature, insofar as it is not the human body, is humanity’s inorganic body; the study of nature is itself the study of humanity. Only in the mutual relationship between humanity and nature do there exist truly real human beings and a truly real nature. Therefore, natural science will include the science of humanity, just as the science of humanity will include natural science; this will be one science. At its root, this is because the nature Marx speaks of is not an absolutely objective nature existing outside and unrelated to humanity, but rather nature in which humanity lives, nature as the object of human activity, nature that is continuously generated and unfolded in humanity’s objective practical activity—that is, humanity’s life-world.

自然史，也就是所谓的自然科学本身，就是关于人的科学。一方面，人是自然科学的直接对象。因为人本身就是自然界的一部分，只有在自然中，人的感性才能获得现实的存在，才能在自然对象中得到客观的实现，也只有借助自然科学才能形成对人自身存在的理解。另一方面，自然界是关于人的科学的直接对象，因为自然界就其不是人的身体而言是人的无机的身体，对自然界的研究本身就是对人的研究。只有在人与自然的相互关系中，才有真正现实的人与现实的自然界。因此，自然科学将包括人的科学，正像人的科学包括自然科学一样，这将是一门科学。究其根本，就在于马克思所说的自然界并不是在人之外、与人无关的绝对客观的自然界，而是人生活于其中的、作为人的活动对象、在人的对象性实践活动中不断地生成和展开的自然界，也就是人的生活世界。

Thus, so-called human history is nothing other than the history of the formation and development of humanity’s life-world, the process of humanity’s birth through its own labor, the process of the humanization of nature—that is, the process by which nature becomes a constituent part of humanity’s real life-world. On the one hand, it is precisely in this process that natural science, through industry, enters into people’s social life, transforms people’s life, and prepares for humanity’s emancipation; on the other hand, it is precisely because of commerce and industry, because of people’s sensuous activity, that natural science attains its own purpose and obtains its own materials. Therefore, human history and natural history are always closely linked; the natural history of the formation of the real human life-world is also the history of humanity’s self-generation—this is one and the same process. This, of course, “does not apply to primitive people generated through natural means” nor to “the nature that existed prior to human history.”

因而，所谓的人类史，不过是人的生活世界的形成史、发展史，是人通过自身的劳动而诞生的过程，是自然界的人化过程，即自然界成为人的现实生活世界的构成部分的过程。一方面，正是在这一过程中，自然科学通过工业进入人们的社会生活，改造人的生活，为人的解放做了准备；另一方面，也正是由于商业和工业，由于人们的感性活动，自然科学才达到自己的目的并获得自己的材料。因此，人类史与自然史始终是密切联系在一起的，现实的人的生活世界形成的自然史，也就是人类自我生成的历史，这是同一个过程。这当然“不适用于原始的、通过自然发生的途径产生的人们”和“先于人类历史而存在的那个自然界”。

In summary, the nature Marx speaks of is the “anthropological nature”—humanity’s real life-world—that is the object of human activity and is generated in human practical activity. Historical materialism, as the science of the laws of the formation and development of real human beings and their life-world, is both the science of humanity and the science of nature; the two are always unified, or rather, this is originally one science—the science of history.

综上所述，马克思所说的自然界，就是作为人的活动的对象、在人的实践活动中生成的“人本学的自然界”——人的现实生活世界。唯物史观作为关于现实的人及其生活世界形成和发展规律的科学，既是关于人的科学，也是关于自然的科学，二者始终统一在一起，或者说这本来就是一门科学——历史科学。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗