Chapter 84 From the Kingdom of Freedom to the Kingdom of Inevitability
Hearing the sound, Karl Marx, who was raising his beer glass to drink, thought for a while and then said.
"From the kingdom of freedom to the kingdom of necessity, this is something I have been thinking about in the past few years, but... there are still some shortcomings. Please let me organize my thoughts and explain it to you."
At the end of the sentence, he pondered for a moment, then put down the beer glass, stroking his beard, thinking about how to explain to his good friend.
Within half a minute, he spoke.
"Engels, you know that I graduated from the University of Berlin, and Hegel was once the president of the University of Berlin."
"Yes."
Friedrich Engels nodded. In 1818, Hegel applied for a professorship in the Department of Philosophy of the University of Berlin, the capital university of Prussia at that time. He later became the president of the University of Berlin in 1929, but died in 1931. Marx, on the other hand,
It was when he was 18 years old, that is, in 1336, five years after Hegel's death, that he studied at the Law Department of the University of Berlin. However, he was deeply influenced by the old president who died not long ago. He did a lot of research on philosophy and was a leader in the field of philosophy.
He is a spiritual student of Hegel.
"Hegel is my spiritual teacher. Many of his views have a profound influence on me, such as his 'Absolute Spirit', 'Dialectical Exhibition' and 'Three Paragraph Debate'. Many of my theories have Hegel's influence."
He is the shadow of you, but when talking about Hegel, we have to go back to Laozi in China."
"I?"
Engels couldn't help but ask, in the study of philosophy, Laozi is not an unfamiliar word. Europe at this moment has gathered all kinds of books from all over the world. No matter which civilization or nation's doctrines are widely studied.
Marx nodded and continued.
"Hegel served as a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Heidelberg University. During this period, he gave many lectures. Some people summarized them as "Lectures on the History of Philosophy". Although it only briefly mentioned Eastern philosophy, it was still recorded
Hegel's views on China's Laozi. Hegel did not have a high opinion of Confucius, thinking that he was just a "moral preacher who appears in every nation", but he praised Laozi quite a lot. Among them, there was a comment on "Tao Sheng"
, the explanation of "one life is two, two begets three', the three-paragraph debate method can be used for reference, 'Tao begets one, one life is two, two begets three'."
"In my opinion, Hegel's 'absolute spirit' has deep traces of 'Tao'. He first believed that there is a logical reality in the universe that exists eternally before nature and human society. It is the universe.
The inner essence and core of all things, and all things are just its external manifestations. This description really has to make me connect it with Leibniz's "On the Natural Theology of the Chinese"."
"'According to [Chinese people], 'Li' or 'Tai Chi' is the supreme goodness of 'Tai Yi', the pure goodness without any impurities, the pure and good essence, which creates the origin of heaven and earth and the supreme truth.'
Reason itself is a force and not limited to itself; it also created all things in order to communicate with others. It is purity, the source of virtue and love. Its principle is to create all things, and all good things come from its elements and nature.
'This description has something in common with absolute spirit. But..."
As he spoke, Marx paused, then shook his head.
"It's a pity that Hegel's national sentiment is too serious. He is always condescending to the culture of any non-German nation, and is too arrogant and scornful of the culture of any foreign nation. Although Hegel does not have a high opinion of Eastern philosophy, I
I still think that perhaps through his long-term experience of reading world philosophy, his own philosophical system has unknowingly incorporated arguments from Eastern philosophy."
Engels listened thoughtfully, and then asked.
"So, what does this have to do with your 'kingdom of freedom to the kingdom of necessity'?"
Marx couldn't help but laugh.
"My theory is deeply influenced by Hegel. 'From the Kingdom of Freedom to the Kingdom of Necessity' is also a view inspired by the 'Absolute Spirit'. In the 'Absolute Spirit', Hegel believes that there is a universe in the universe.
This is a logical spirit, and its external manifestation is the material world. Then one day I suddenly realized: If we assume that 'humanity' is regarded as a whole, then what is the absolute spirit of 'humanity'?"
If…consider “humanity” as a whole…
Listening to these words, Engels' consciousness became a little blurry in a daze. An inexplicable mechanism was opened in his mind, and the will that had been sleeping in his blood for countless years seemed to be awakening...
At the same time, in a certain residence in Europe.
In an inconspicuous corner, there is a female sculpture less than 20 centimeters tall. It is an ancient sculpture that seems to have gone through many years. Although it is often wiped, it is still difficult to hide the occasional traces of rust on it, and the pupils are empty.
It seems that some gemstone that was once inlaid on it has been removed, but its lifelike appearance can still make people imagine its former heroic posture.
The sculpture is covered with countless mysterious runes, Christian, West African Voodoo, Ancient Egyptian, Nordic Germanic... Whether it is Eastern or Western gods and religions, countless runes have been
Engraved on this sculpture, it seems as if someone is trying to suppress this small sculpture with the power of the gods.
However, accompanied by a word from a distant place, inside the sculpture...
"puff……"
On that heart, an eye suddenly opened, its erect pupils were like snakes, cold and terrifying.
…
"Engels, the earliest human beings were free, unrestrained, unaware, knowing nothing, understanding nothing, and obeyed the will of nature like animals. This is the kingdom of freedom."
Unaware of the silence of his good friend in front of him, Marx just filled the empty beer glass in front of him and spoke unhurriedly.
"But the kingdom of freedom does not last long. Human beings gradually began to master the understanding of nature, create tools, and use tools and experience to transform nature. Engels and Aristotle said, 'Man is a rational animal.' Human beings
Relying on reason to control nature, and ultimately using reason to consciously transform the world, this process is the 'Kingdom of Necessity'."
“Engels, for example, society and law are products of the ‘kingdom of necessity’.”
"Animals don't understand what society and law are, and the earliest humans didn't understand what society and law are. But through constant experience and exploration, humans gradually realized the law of development of things, took control of it, and formulated a series of
laws and systems, and consciously try to change the laws and systems to make human society better."
As he spoke, Marx stopped, raised the filled beer glass in front of him and drank.
Engels covered his head. There seemed to be a faint female voice whispering in his mind, telling her doubts. In the end, Engels couldn't help but follow the female voice and ask.
"So what?"
"so?"
Marx paused and looked at his good friend in front of him strangely. He thought that his friend should be able to directly understand what he had not finished saying, but he could only shake his head and said.
"So Engels, this is the human consciousness to transform the world, instead of obeying the instinct given by nature."
"Think about it, when the law was enacted, what did it target? Crimes and cases that have not yet occurred, and the reform of the social system, what did it target? Contradictions and crises that have not yet formed. Human beings are in these dangers
Before they appear, they rely on their own ideals and consciously try to avoid these dangers in advance. This is something that animals driven purely by instinct do not have."
"Animals are ignorant and ignorant. They follow their instincts and do not plan in advance. But humans have rationality and know how to plan their future in advance and consciously avoid dangerous futures so that they can pass through
Towards a better future.”
"The rise and fall of a species should be accidental, free life, free death, free killing, free competition... Natural selection, survival of the fittest, this is the free destiny given by nature. Those who survive
Animals do not know why they survive and are ignorant; animals that die do not know why they die and are ignorant.”
"But human beings are different. Human beings rely on their own rationality and wisdom, and through experience summarization, to consciously avoid those dangerous futures, unite similar species, avoid dangers, and no longer obey the 'natural selection, survival of the fittest' established by nature.
, and finally rely on reason and science to transform the world. Consciously make business more prosperous, consciously make science and technology more advanced, consciously make civilization more prosperous, escape the control of nature, and turn the accidental future into an inevitable future.
"
As he said this, Marx looked at his friend who was meditating in front of him and said seriously.
"Engels, this is the transition from the kingdom of freedom of ignorance to the kingdom of necessity where rationality transforms the world."
"This is an era of mankind. People no longer need to obey nature ignorantly, and they no longer need to obey the gods in the dark. People can control their own destiny by relying on their own reason and wisdom."
However, what Marx could not see was...
Behind Engels, an invisible phantom was standing. The gentle figure that should have disappeared long ago was listening quietly, with a look of confusion on his face.
No more...need to obey God?
…
And somewhere far away, the pair of vertical pupils that opened from above the heart, through the barrier of the sculpture and the house, stared directly at the distant sky with cold eyes.