The Philosophical Implications and Contemporary Requirements of Emancipating the Mind

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and keeping pace with the times are the living soul of Marxism and the fundamental ideological weapon for us to adapt to new situations, understand new things, and accomplish new tasks.” Emancipating the mind is the prerequisite and condition for adhering to seeking truth from facts, and keeping pace with the times is the requirement of emancipating the mind. The development of practice never ceases, and emancipating the mind is always a fresh topic. We must both comprehensively understand the fundamental requirements, inherent laws, and historical experience of emancipating the mind, and accurately grasp the contemporary characteristics and practical significance of emancipating the mind under the new historical orientation, so as to provide a powerful spiritual driving force for further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese-path modernization.

习近平总书记指出：“解放思想、实事求是、与时俱进，是马克思主义活的灵魂，是我们适应新形势、认识新事物、完成新任务的根本思想武器。”解放思想是坚持实事求是的前提和条件，与时俱进是解放思想的要求。实践的发展永不停歇，解放思想常讲常新。我们既要全面认识解放思想的根本要求、内在规律和历史经验，又要准确把握在新的历史方位下解放思想的时代特征和现实意义，为进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化提供强大精神动力。

Emancipating the mind is the essential requirement of Marxist epistemology

解放思想是马克思主义认识论的本质要求

Human activity is purposeful, conscious, and dynamic activity. Thought is the precursor of human activity, and theory is the guide for human practice. Without innovation in thought and theory, there can be no transformation in practical activity. So-called emancipating the mind refers to, in order to promote development, consciously casting off the shackles of outdated ideas and modes of thinking, establishing new thoughts, new concepts, new thinking, and new models that conform to the requirements of development, achieving the alignment of thought with reality and the subjective with the objective, and keeping pace with the times and seeking truth from facts. The essence of emancipating the mind is to carry out innovation in thought and theory. Emancipating the mind is easier said than done; one must comprehensively master the worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and have the courage to engage in self-revolution.

人类的活动是有目的、有意识的能动性活动。思想是人类活动的先导，理论是人类实践的指南。没有思想和理论的创新，就没有实践活动的变革。所谓解放思想，是指为了推动发展，自觉摆脱过时的思想观念、思维模式的束缚，树立符合发展要求的新思想、新观念、新思维、新模式，实现思想与实际、主观与客观相符合，做到与时俱进、实事求是。解放思想的实质是进行思想和理论创新。解放思想说易行难，必须全面掌握辩证唯物主义的世界观和方法论，勇于进行自我革命。

The basic idea of materialist dialectics is: “The world is not a collection of ready-made things, but a collection of processes, in which seemingly stable things and their mental images in our heads are actually in constant change of generation and extinction.” [1]1 This is a paraphrase of Friedrich Engels’s formulation in *Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy* (1886), describing the dialectical view that all things are in a process of constant change. Objective reality refers to things or phenomena external to our subjective consciousness, while ideas and concepts are the mental images of objective reality constructed by the practical subject through their own cognitive activities. Marxism holds that all social life is essentially practical, and the difference between humans and animals lies in the human ability to exert subjective initiative to understand and transform the world. The relationship between understanding and practice is a process of “practice, understanding, re-practice, re-understanding” that continuously spirals upward. In this process, the unity of theory and practice, and of the subjective and the objective, can only be concrete and historical. Relative to practice, people’s understanding often has the characteristics of being stage-bound, one-sided, and lagging behind. As practice further develops and objective reality changes, people’s understanding should also keep pace with the times and be adjusted accordingly. However, once ideas and concepts are formed, they possess the characteristics of relative independence and stability; their dynamic counter-effect is manifested in maintaining or criticizing social reality, regulating social development and human activity. When ideas and concepts conform to the development trends and laws of change of objective reality, they can lead the development of the times; when ideas and concepts do not conform to the development trends and laws of change of objective reality, they become fetters on development. The emphasis of human society and cultural traditions on stability, order, and norms makes people’s thoughts and actions tend toward stability and conservatism. Once the thought of an organization or individual seriously lags behind the development of objective reality, it will lack vitality, become lifeless, and development will slow down or even stagnate, inevitably leading to defeat in fierce social competition. To liberate and enhance social vitality, the first step is to remove the ideological obstacles that hinder development and break the spiritual shackles that bind people’s thinking.

唯物辩证法的基本思想是：“世界不是既成事物的集合体，而是过程的集合体，各个看似稳定的事物及它们在我们头脑中的思想映象实际上都处在生成和灭亡的不断变化中。”客观实际是指外在于我们主观意识的事物或者现象，而思想观念是实践主体通过自己的认识活动建构的关于客观实际的思想映象。马克思主义认为，全部社会生活在本质上是实践的，人和动物的区别在于人能够发挥主观能动性，认识和改造世界。认识和实践的关系是“实践、认识、再实践、再认识”不断螺旋式上升的过程。在此过程中，理论和实践、主观和客观的统一只能是具体的、历史的。相对于实践，人们的认识往往具有阶段性、片面性和滞后性。随着实践的进一步发展，客观实际发生了变化，人们的认识也应该与时俱进，随之进行调整。然而，思想观念一经形成，就具有相对独立性和稳定性的特点，其能动的反作用体现在维护或批判社会现实、调控社会的发展和人的活动上。当思想观念符合客观实际的发展趋势和变化规律，就能引领时代的发展；当思想观念不符合客观实际的发展趋势和变化规律，就会成为发展的桎梏。人类社会和文化传统对于稳定、秩序和规范的强调，使得人们的思想和行动倾向于稳定和保守。一个组织或个人的思想一旦严重滞后于客观实际的发展，就会缺乏生机、死气沉沉，发展变得缓慢甚至出现停滞，进而必然在激烈的社会竞争中落败。解放和增强社会活力，首先要破除妨碍发展的思想观念障碍，打破束缚人们思想的精神枷锁。

Emancipating the mind is a process in which the practical subject adapts to objective reality through the active adjustment of thought; it must follow the worldview and methodology of materialist dialectics. Changes in any thing in the world are the unity of quantitative and qualitative change. Correspondingly, emancipating the mind is also the unity of changes in general modes of thinking and shifts in paradigms of thought. Influenced by different worldviews and knowledge backgrounds, different subjects have very different understandings of objective reality. To keep pace with the times in emancipating the mind, the key is to have a good style of study, to conduct in-depth investigation and research, and to profoundly grasp the development trends and laws of change of objective reality. Materialist dialectics requires that we view objective reality with an objective attitude, discard subjective prejudices and subjective wishes as much as possible, and avoid falling into the trap of subjectivism; that we view objective reality with a comprehensive perspective, grasp objective reality as a whole from diverse angles, and avoid the mistake of “the blind men feeling the elephant”; that we view objective reality with a connecting perspective, step out of the constraints of the small environment, grasp the small environment within the large environment, and avoid being “unable to see the forest for a single leaf”; that we view objective reality with a developmental perspective, grasp the development trends and laws of change of objective reality, and avoid seeing only the present while being ignorant of the past and unable to see the future.

解放思想是实践主体通过思想的主动调整来适应客观实际的过程，必须遵循唯物辩证法的世界观和方法论。世界上任何事物的变化都是量变和质变的统一，与此相对应，解放思想也是一般性思维方式变革与思维范式变迁的统一。受不同世界观和知识背景的影响，不同主体对于客观实际的认识存在很大的区别。要做到与时俱进地解放思想，关键是要有一个良好的学风，要深入调查研究，深刻把握客观实际的发展趋势及其变化规律。唯物辩证法要求，要用客观的态度看待客观实际，尽可能摒弃主观偏见和主观意愿的干扰，避免落入主观主义的陷阱；要用全面的观点看待客观实际，以多样化的视角从整体上把握客观实际，避免犯“盲人摸象”的错误；要用联系的观点去看待客观实际，跳出小环境的约束，在大环境中把握小环境，避免一叶障目，不见泰山；要用发展的观点去看待客观实际，把握客观实际的发展趋势和变化规律，避免只见当下，不知过去、不见未来。

Emancipating the mind is a revolutionary change in ideas and concepts; it requires the courage for self-criticism and self-denial. One must dare to engage in self-revolution, resolutely break free from the bonds of outdated ideas, overcome the limitations of insufficient quality and ability, conquer the fear of risks and challenges, and dare to try, dare to act, and boldly innovate. In terms of its internal mechanism, emancipating the mind manifests as people’s transition from conservative to open ideas and concepts, from habitual to creative modes of thinking, and from traditional to modern ways of life. The main obstacles to emancipating the mind are, on the one hand, ideological conservatism and rigidity caused by empiricism, dogmatism, etc., which lag behind the times; on the other hand, the unfettered flight of thought caused by voluntarism, intuitionism, etc., which disregards objective laws and gallops arbitrarily. Both ideological conservatism and rigidity and the unfettered flight of thought can cause great losses to the cause of development and reform.

解放思想是思想观念的革命性变革，必须有自我批评、自我否定的勇气。要敢于自我革命，坚决破除陈旧观念的束缚、克服素质能力欠佳的局限、战胜对于风险挑战的恐惧，敢闯敢试、大胆创新。从内在机制上看，解放思想表现为人们从保守到开放的思想观念、从习惯性到创造性的思维方式、从传统到现代的生活方式等。解放思想的主要障碍，一方面是经验主义、教条主义等导致的思想保守僵化、落后于时代，另一方面是唯意志论、直觉主义等所导致的思想天马行空，无视客观规律任意驰骋。思想保守僵化和思想任意驰骋，都会给发展改革事业造成极大的损失。

The direction and principles of emancipating the mind in the historical process of reform and opening up

改革开放历史进程中解放思想的方向和原则

Looking back on the course of China’s reform and opening up, reform and opening up originated from emancipating the mind, and the process of reform and opening up is simultaneously a process of continuously carrying out ideological emancipation. With emancipating the mind as the precursor, China’s reform and opening up was able to break through various resistances and disturbances, liberate and develop the social productive forces, liberate and enhance social vitality, realize the leap of Chinese society from insufficient warmth and food to moderate prosperity in all respects, and promote the historical process of world modernization.

回顾中国改革开放的历程，改革开放源于解放思想，改革开放的过程同时就是不断进行思想解放的过程。以解放思想为先导，中国的改革开放才能够冲破各种阻力和干扰，解放和发展社会生产力，解放和增强社会活力，实现了中国社会从温饱不足到全面小康的跨越，推动了世界现代化历史进程。

Emancipating the mind must adhere to the correct direction. It is precisely because China’s reform and opening up has always adhered to unifying the two basic points of taking economic construction as the central task, upholding the Four Cardinal Principles, and adhering to reform and opening up in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, neither taking the old path of closed-door rigidity nor the evil path of changing the banner, that it has blazed a path of socialism with Chinese characteristics that conforms to China’s national conditions. [2]2 The Four Cardinal Principles (四项基本原则) are: upholding the socialist path, the people’s democratic dictatorship, the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. They were articulated by Deng Xiaoping in 1979 as the political foundation of reform and opening up. The direction of China’s reform and opening up is to continuously promote the self-improvement and development of the socialist system, not to change the socialist system. Upholding the Four Cardinal Principles is the foundation for building the country; we must both use the Four Cardinal Principles to ensure the correct direction of reform and opening up, and endow the Four Cardinal Principles with new contemporary connotations through reform and opening up.

解放思想必须坚持正确的方向。正是因为中国的改革开放始终坚持把以经济建设为中心同坚持四项基本原则、坚持改革开放这两个基本点统一于中国特色社会主义伟大实践，既不走封闭僵化的老路，也不走改旗易帜的邪路，从而走出了一条符合中国国情的中国特色社会主义道路。中国改革开放的方向是不断推动社会主义制度的自我完善和发展，而不是对社会主义制度改弦更张。坚持四项基本原则是立国之本，既要以四项基本原则保证改革开放的正确方向，又要通过改革开放赋予四项基本原则新的时代内涵。

Emancipating the mind must adhere to a people-centered approach. Emancipating the mind is a process that starts with a few people, gradually spreads to the whole society through the guiding ideology and theoretical innovation of the Party and the state, and the ideological emancipation of leading cadres plays a key role in this process. The broad masses of the people are the subjects of practice, and therefore also the subjects of emancipating the mind. We must respect the practice and choices of the people, promptly elevate the successful practical experience of the people into the Party’s theory and decision-making guiding ideology, and then, through explanation and guidance, enable the people to understand and accept it, fully mobilizing the initiative, enthusiasm, and creativity of the broad masses of the people, forming a powerful driving force for social development. The development of practice is endless, and emancipating the mind is endless.

解放思想必须坚持以人民为中心。解放思想是一个从少数人开始、通过党和国家的指导思想和理论创新进而向整个社会逐步扩散的过程，领导干部的思想解放在此过程中发挥着关键作用。广大人民群众是实践的主体，因而也是解放思想的主体。要尊重人民群众的实践和选择，及时把人民群众的成功实践经验升华为党的理论和决策指导思想，再通过阐释引导使人民群众理解接受，充分调动广大人民群众的积极性、主动性、创造性，形成推动社会发展的强大动能。实践发展永无止境，解放思想永无止境。

On the new journey, closely focusing on advancing Chinese-path modernization, consciously emancipate the mind

新征程上紧扣推进中国式现代化自觉解放思想

Based on different historical stages and different historical conditions, emancipating the mind inevitably has different contents, requirements, and characteristics, and different contemporary characteristics and significance.

立足不同的历史阶段、不同的历史条件，解放思想必然具有不同的内容、要求和特点，具有不同的时代特征和意义。

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party [3]3 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC was held in July 2024. It focused on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese-path modernization. constructed the “four beams and eight pillars” [4]4 “Four beams and eight pillars” (四梁八柱) is a Chinese architectural metaphor for the main supporting framework of a structure. In political discourse, it refers to the fundamental institutional framework of a reform plan. for further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese-path modernization, and drew a magnificent yet clear and specific blueprint for reform. We must, in accordance with the deployment of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party, adhere to the goal orientation and problem orientation, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, adhere to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, further emancipate the mind, liberate and develop the social productive forces, liberate and enhance social vitality, build a new development pattern, promote high-quality development, and advance reform and opening up at a higher level in the New Era.

党的二十届三中全会构建了进一步全面深化改革、推进中国式现代化的“四梁八柱”，擘画了气势恢宏而又清晰具体的改革蓝图。我们要按照党的二十届三中全会的部署，坚持目标导向和问题导向，完整、准确、全面贯彻新发展理念，坚持稳中求进工作总基调，进一步解放思想、解放和发展社会生产力、解放和增强社会活力，构建新发展格局、推动高质量发展，推进新时代更高水平的改革开放。

At present, reform has once again reached a new historical juncture, and the complexity and difficulty of advancing reform are unprecedented. We must closely focus on the theme of advancing Chinese-path modernization to further deepen reform comprehensively, take the continued improvement and development of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity as the overall goal, resolutely eliminate the ideological concepts and institutional and mechanistic drawbacks that hinder the advancement of Chinese-path modernization, strive to resolve deep-seated institutional obstacles and structural contradictions, and continuously inject strong momentum and provide a robust institutional guarantee for Chinese-path modernization.

当前，改革又到了一个新的历史关头，推进改革的复杂程度、艰巨程度前所未有。我们要紧扣推进中国式现代化主题进一步全面深化改革，以继续完善和发展中国特色社会主义制度，推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化为总目标，坚决破除妨碍推进中国式现代化的思想观念和体制机制弊端，着力破解深层次体制机制障碍和结构性矛盾，不断为中国式现代化注入强劲动力、提供有力制度保障。

The wheels of history roll forward; those who push them are honored, and those who block them are disgraced. The tides of the times surge mightily; those who go with them prosper, and those who go against them perish. The major achievements of the Party’s theoretical innovation must be concretized at the meso and micro levels through universal reform and innovation into the practices of all sectors of society; otherwise, they remain merely a theoretical blueprint, difficult to play an effective role. In this sense, emancipating the mind is precisely to better unify thought and unify action through the Party’s innovative theory. Let us, under the guidance of the Party’s innovative theory, further emancipate the mind, further deepen reform comprehensively, take advancing Chinese-path modernization as the greatest political task, and continuously advance toward the great cause of building a strong country and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

历史的车轮滚滚向前，推之者荣挡之者辱；时代的潮流浩浩荡荡，顺之者昌逆之者亡。党的思想理论创新所取得的重大成果，必须在中观和微观层面上通过普遍的改革创新而具体化到社会各个层面的实践中，否则就只是一种理论上的蓝图，难以发挥有效作用。在这个意义上，解放思想就是为了更好地用党的创新理论统一思想、统一行动。让我们在党的创新理论的指引下，进一步解放思想，进一步全面深化改革，把推进中国式现代化作为最大的政治，向着强国建设、民族复兴伟业不断前进。

Author: Gao Haitao (Deputy Director of the Political Department, Qianxian Magazine, Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPC)

作者：高海涛（中共北京市委前线杂志社政治部副主任）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧