This book provides a comprehensive history of Marxist philosophy in China since the beginning of the reform and the opening-up of China. It relies overwhelmingly on Chinese-language sources and research. Nearly all of the material will be new for an international readership. The book shows that the time from 1978 until today has been both the most creative time for Chinese Marxist philosophy and the time when Marxist philosophers in China became confident global participants. It also also shows that Marxist philosophy in China is part of the mainstream of global Marxist philosophy. The book is of interest to scholars, students, and other readers interested in the philosophical tradition in China.
1.-Introduction.-2. Marxist Philosophy Before the Reform and
Opening-Up.-3.-The Discussion on the Criterion for Truth (1978).-4.-
Practical Materialism: A New Type of Marxist Philosophy.-5.- The Great
Debate: Practical Materialism or Dialectical Materialism.-6.- Educational
Reforms of 2005, 2016, 2021: The Flourishing of Marxist Philosophy.-7.-
Departments and Systems: The Constant Exploration of a Unified
Theory.-8.-Textbooks, Texts, and Marxology.-9.-From Problem Consciousness to
Capital-logic.-10.-The Two Integrations: Marxist Philosophy in Light of
Concrete Conditions and Culture.-11.-The Chinese Reception of Western
Marxism.-12.-Conclusion: On Marxist Philosophy and Global Implications.
Roland Boer is an overseas talent professor in the School of Philosophy at Renmin University of China. He obtained his Doctor of Philosophy from McGill University, in Montreal, Canada, and was formerly Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Newcastle, Australia, and Professor in the School of Marxism at Dalian University of Technology. His research interests include Marxist philosophy, political philosophy, and Marxist literary criticism. Since 1994, he has published 27 monographs and more than 300 academic articles, and his research has had a significant impact on the international scholarly community with translations into many languages.
In 2014, he was awarded the Deutscher Memorial Prize for his five-volume work, The Criticism of Heaven and Earth. In more recent years, Roland Boer has devoted his attention to Chinese Marxism, publishing in 2021 a widely-read and much-cited monograph entitled Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners. His most recent monographs are Friedrich Engels and the Foundations of Socialist Governance (2021) and Socialism in Power: On the History and Theory of Socialist Governance (2023).
