Feng Xiujun: Consolidating the Theoretical Foundation of China's Independent Knowledge System of Philosophy and Social Sciences
"For a tree to grow tall, its roots must be solid; for a stream to flow far, its source must be dredged." [1] Only when built upon a solid theoretical foundation can the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences have a long-lasting source and flourishing growth, becoming an important tool for us to understand and transform the world, and an important force for promoting the development of the times and human progress.
Consolidating the theoretical foundation is the prerequisite and fundamental basis for constructing an autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences
The theoretical foundation of philosophy and social sciences is composed of the fundamental, prerequisite, and guiding ideas, principles, and doctrines that support the knowledge system. It reflects the underlying logic, basic stance, and fundamental basis for the construction of that system. Consolidating the theoretical foundation of Chinese philosophy and social sciences is of fundamental and prerequisite importance for accelerating the construction of an autonomous knowledge system.
Consolidating the theoretical foundation is an inevitable requirement for ensuring the correct direction of the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. To accelerate the construction of an autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences, we must adhere to the guiding position of Marxism, take the basic principles of Marxism as the theoretical cornerstone, and adhere to a people-centered research orientation. On the one hand, the materiality of the world and its laws of development, human society and its laws of development, and the nature of cognition and its laws of development as revealed by Marxism provide a scientific worldview and methodology for Chinese philosophy and social sciences. This is the fundamental prerequisite for the scientific nature and autonomy of the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. On the other hand, only by adhering to the guiding position of Marxism can we firmly establish a people-centered research orientation, ensure that Chinese philosophy and social sciences always serve the people, and create more research results that can stand the test of practice, the people, and history.
Consolidating the theoretical foundation is an urgent need to enhance the subjectivity of the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Whether our philosophy and social sciences have Chinese characteristics depends, in the final analysis, on whether they possess subjectivity and originality." Subjectivity is the prerequisite for autonomy; without subjectivity, there can be no talk of autonomy. The fundamental reason why philosophy and social sciences in various countries exhibit different subjectivities is that they all have theoretical foundations that reflect their respective histories, cultures, value stances, and national wills. Therefore, only by continuously consolidating a theoretical foundation that conforms to Chinese reality and reflects Chinese characteristics can we enhance the subjectivity of the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences.
Consolidating the theoretical foundation is the only way to stimulate the innovative power of the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The vitality of theory lies in innovation. Innovation is the eternal theme of the development of philosophy and social sciences, and it is also an inevitable requirement for philosophy and social sciences posed by social development, the deepening of practice, and historical progress." The theoretical innovative power of the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences is the ability to mine new materials, discover new problems, propose new viewpoints, and construct new theories based on China's national conditions. The problem-awareness, core viewpoints, logical thinking, and research methods contained within the theoretical foundation provide an important guarantee for stimulating the innovative power of this autonomous knowledge system. If the theoretical foundation is firm and deep, the great tree of the autonomous knowledge system of philosophy and social sciences will be lush with foliage and laden with fruit.
The scientific connotation of the theoretical foundation of the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences
To consolidate the theoretical foundation of the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences, we must take the Party’s innovative theories as scientific guidance, the basic principles of Marxism as the ideological foundation, and Fine Traditional Chinese Culture as the cultural root. We must continuously promote innovation in disciplinary, academic, and discourse systems, fully demonstrating the truth and scientific nature, inheritance and nationality, and originality and timeliness of Chinese philosophy and social sciences.
The basic principles of Marxism lay the ideological foundation for the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Adhering to Marxism as the guide is the fundamental sign that distinguishes contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences from other philosophy and social sciences, and it must be upheld with a clear-cut stand." Contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences began with the introduction of Marxism into our country and have developed gradually under its guidance. The Marxist theoretical and knowledge system is extensive and profound, covering many disciplinary fields such as philosophy, law, history, economics, politics, sociology, military science, and Party building. The basic principles of Marxist philosophy, political economy, and scientific socialism, as well as the stances, viewpoints, and methods running through them, provide the starting point for research and lay the basic academic paradigm for the autonomous knowledge system.
Fine Traditional Chinese Culture provides deep cultural roots for the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The resources of Fine Traditional Chinese Culture are extremely precious and rare resources for the development of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics." Fine Traditional Chinese Culture is the accumulation of knowledge, wisdom, and rational speculation formed by the Chinese nation over thousands of years; it is the cultural root for constructing an autonomous knowledge system. To build this system, we must continuously and deeply mine the ideological "rich ore" of Fine Traditional Chinese Culture, thereby better inheriting the excellent genes of Chinese culture and the Chinese spirit, activating their powerful vitality, and promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of Fine Traditional Chinese Culture.
The Party’s innovative theories provide a source of strength for the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Lead innovation in knowledge, theory, and methodology in philosophy and social sciences with the Party's innovative theories, and build an autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences with identifying concepts and original theories of various disciplines as the backbone." As the latest achievement of the Party's innovative theories, Xi Jinping Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is a glorious example of adhering to the "Two Combinations." [2] It provides a scientific worldview and methodology for research centered on the "Two Combinations" and the "Six Must-Upholds," [3] and provides identifying concepts, original ideological viewpoints, and theoretical achievements in principle for the autonomous knowledge system. A series of identifying concepts such as new quality productive forces, whole-process people's democracy, comprehensive rural revitalization, and a community with a shared future for humanity, along with original ideological viewpoints such as Chinese-path modernization being socialist modernization led by the CPC, the promotion of common prosperity for all, and "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," [4] provide scientific ideological guidance and rich theoretical resources.
Taking multiple measures to consolidate the theoretical foundation of the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences
Guided by the Party's innovative theories, we must promote innovation in knowledge, theory, and methodology in the process of adhering to the "Two Combinations." We need to focus on building a systematic and improved disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system, taking multiple measures to consolidate the theoretical foundation.
Strengthen the guidance of Marxist disciplines and reinforce the disciplinary support for the autonomous knowledge system. The disciplinary system is the basic support. First, we must give full play to the leading role of Marxist disciplines such as Marxist theory, CPC history and Party building, and discipline inspection and supervision. We should innovatively implement the Project to Study and Build Marxist Theory and the Philosophy and Social Sciences Innovation Project, integrating Marxist stances, viewpoints, and methods into every link of the construction of the disciplinary system for philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. Second, we must continuously improve the disciplinary system, scientifically plan the disciplinary layout, and promote the coordinated development of basic, emerging, interdisciplinary, and "cold" (niche) disciplines. We should use basic disciplines such as philosophy, history, economics, and law to consolidate the guiding position of Marxism; use emerging disciplines such as humanistic economics and area studies to promote practical and theoretical innovation; use interdisciplinary fields such as the digital economy, space law, and smart governance to promote research paradigm innovation; and use niche fields of "extinct learning" [5] such as Oracle Bone Scripts, bamboo and wooden slips, Dunhuang studies, and paleography to promote civilizational continuity and cultural inheritance.
Deepen the research and interpretation of the Party's innovative theories to lead academic innovation. The academic system is the core content. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Strengthen the research and interpretation of the Central Committee's new concepts, thoughts, and strategies for governance, extract new theories with academic scholarly rigor, and summarize new practices with regular patterns. This is the focus and emphasis of building philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics." First, we must extract new topics from the important areas of our Party's governance—for example, new quality productive forces, whole-process people's democracy, common prosperity for all, and the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation are all major propositions requiring in-depth study. Second, we must mine new materials, propose new viewpoints, and construct new theories from the vivid practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, profoundly summarizing correct ideas and effective methods for solving problems. Third, we must deeply study the scientific methodology of the Party's theoretical innovation, scientifically master practical methods such as investigation and research, and consciously use specific methods such as "dissecting the sparrow" [6] and "seizing the typical" to lay a scientific foundation for methodological paradigm innovation.
Strengthen the extraction of identifying concepts to support discourse innovation. The discourse system is the external expression of the autonomous knowledge system. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must be good at extracting identifying concepts and creating new concepts, new categories, and new expressions that are easily understood and accepted by the international community." First, we must accelerate the scientific extraction of identifying concepts, revolving around new quality productive forces, comprehensive rural revitalization, the new development philosophy, a community with a shared future for humanity, and the common values of humanity. We should further innovate sub-concepts and concept clusters so that they both conform to the basic principles of Marxism and reflect the successful experience of Chinese-path modernization. Second, we must strengthen the research and interpretation of identifying concepts by organizing special research projects and academic exchanges. Third, we must promote the dissemination and recognition of identifying concepts, facilitate their systematic release, and accelerate the construction of a discourse system that possesses a Chinese stance, national style, and international expression. We must tell the story of the autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences well, making new contributions to creating a new situation for Chinese-path modernization and promoting human progress.