Hu Yusheng

School of Marxism, Anhui University of Finance and Economics

Abstract：

With the advent of the Enlightenment and the formation of natural sciences, the Western metaphysical system gradually disintegrated, giving rise to the philosophical school of positivism and the ideological trend of Marxism. The positivist school of thought aimed to base itself on the research methods of natural sciences, emphasizing experience while opposing a priori logical reasoning. Marxism, grounded in historical materialism, explores the laws governing the development of human history and achieves the unity of nature and human society through productive practice. In their critique of positivism, Marx and Engels employed historical dialectics and natural dialectics respectively to criticize the "ahistorical" and mechanistic scientific methods represented by Comte. By applying dialectics to the study of positivist philosophy, they established the Marxist scientific methodology.

Key Words：

rationalism; positivism; empiricism; historical dialectics