One Divides Into Two
Encyclopedia
The One Divides into Two controversy (一分为二) was a philosophical debate about the nature of contradiction that took place in China in 1964. The concept originated in Lenin's Philosophical Notebooks
. The philosopher Yang Xianzhen
, originated the idea of Two Unites into One which he said was the primary law of dialectics. The Maoists interpreted the Aesopian meaning of this to be that capitalism could be united with socialism. Ai Siqi
wrote the original attack on Yang, and was joined by Mao himself. Wang Ruoshui
also contributed to the attack. After 1976, Yang was rehabilitated as well as the concept of two uniting into one.
This phrase is derived from the formulation given by V.I. Lenin in his “Philosophical Notebooks,” Collected Works, Vol. 38, F.L.P.H., Moscow, 1961, p. 359. “The splitting of a single whole and the cognition of its contradictory parts ... is the essence ... of dialectics.”
Dr. Richard Baum has put the controversy in terms of modern game theory
as a debate between zero sum and non-zero sum competition.
Philosophical Notebooks
The Philosophical Notebooks of Lenin were a series of summaries and commentaries on philosophical works by Lenin. Included were works by Aristotle, Hegel, Feurbach, Marx, and Deborin. Lenin's notes on dialectics played an influential role in Soviet and Chinese studies on contradiction and the unity...
. The philosopher Yang Xianzhen
Yang Xianzhen
Yang Xianzhen was a Chinese Communist politician who was the tenth president of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the highest training center for party workers and leaders...
, originated the idea of Two Unites into One which he said was the primary law of dialectics. The Maoists interpreted the Aesopian meaning of this to be that capitalism could be united with socialism. Ai Siqi
Ai Siqi
Àisīqí is the penname of Li Sheng-Hsuen , a Yunnan Mongol Chinese philosopher and author. He was born in Yunnan, later traveling to Hong Kong, where he studied English and French at a Protestant school and was exposed to Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People and Marxism...
wrote the original attack on Yang, and was joined by Mao himself. Wang Ruoshui
Wang Ruoshui
Wang Ruoshui , was a Chinese journalist and philosopher, major exponent of Marxist humanism in China and of Chinese liberalism.Wang studied philosophy in the late 1940s, converting to Marxism and joining the Communist Party prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949...
also contributed to the attack. After 1976, Yang was rehabilitated as well as the concept of two uniting into one.
This phrase is derived from the formulation given by V.I. Lenin in his “Philosophical Notebooks,” Collected Works, Vol. 38, F.L.P.H., Moscow, 1961, p. 359. “The splitting of a single whole and the cognition of its contradictory parts ... is the essence ... of dialectics.”
Dr. Richard Baum has put the controversy in terms of modern game theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
as a debate between zero sum and non-zero sum competition.