Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 183 From the Realm of Necessity to the Realm of Freedom
Upon hearing this, Karl Marx, who was raising his beer glass to drink, thought for a moment and then spoke.

"From the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom, this is something I've been thinking about for the past few years, but... it's still not quite there. Let me organize my thoughts and explain it to you."

Finally, he paused for a moment, then put down his beer glass, stroked his beard, and pondered how to explain it to his good friend.

He spoke within half a minute.

"Engels, you know I graduated from the University of Berlin, and Hegel was once the rector of the University of Berlin."

"Yes."

Friedrich Engels nodded, saying that Hegel accepted a professorship in the philosophy department of the University of Berlin, then the capital of Prussia, in 1818, and later became the rector of the University of Berlin in 1829, but died in 1831. Marx, on the other hand, enrolled in the law department of the University of Berlin at the age of 18, five years after Hegel's death in 1836. Deeply influenced by the recently deceased rector, he devoted himself to philosophical studies and could be considered a student of Hegel in the field of philosophy.

“Hegel is my spiritual teacher. Many of his views have had a profound influence on me, such as his ‘absolute spirit’, ‘dialectical development’, and ‘syllogism’. Many of my theories have the shadow of Hegel, but to talk about Hegel, we have to trace back to Lao Tzu in China.”

"Laozi?"

Engels couldn't help but ask in return, "Lao Tzu is not an unfamiliar term in philosophical studies. At this time, Europe has gathered all kinds of books from all over the world, and the doctrines of any civilization and nation are widely studied."

Marx nodded and continued.

"Hegel served as a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Heidelberg. During this period, he gave many lectures, which have been summarized into a collection called 'Lectures on the History of Philosophy.' Although the lectures only touched upon Eastern philosophy superficially, they still recorded Hegel's views on Lao Tzu. Hegel did not think highly of Confucius, considering him merely 'a moral preacher who appears in every nation,' but he greatly admired Lao Tzu. In his lectures, he explained 'The Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three,' and his syllogistic argumentation method borrowed from 'The Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three.'"

"In my view, Hegel's 'Absolute Spirit' bears a deep trace of the 'Tao.' He first believed that there exists a logical reality in the universe that is eternally existing prior to nature and human society. It is the inner essence and core of all things in the universe, and all things are merely its external manifestations. This description inevitably reminds me of Leibniz's 'On the Natural Theology of the Chinese.'"

"According to the Chinese, 'Li' or 'Taiji' is the ultimate good, 'Taiyi,' a pure goodness devoid of any impurities, a pure and good essence that creates the origin of heaven and earth, the supreme truth. 'Li' itself is force, not limited to itself; and in order to communicate with all beings, it created all things. It is the source of purity, virtue, and love. Its principle is the creation of all things, and all goodness originates from its elements and nature." This description does indeed have something in common with the Absolute Spirit. However…

Marx paused, then shook his head.

"Unfortunately, Hegel's nationalistic sentiments were too strong. He always looked down on any non-German culture and was too arrogant and disdainful of any foreign culture. Although Hegel did not think highly of Eastern philosophy, I still believe that in his long experience of reading world philosophy, he probably unconsciously incorporated Eastern philosophical arguments into his own philosophical system."

Engels listened thoughtfully, then asked in return.

"So, what does this have to do with your 'from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom'?"

Marx couldn't help but laugh.

“My theory is deeply influenced by Hegel, and the idea of ​​‘from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom’ is also inspired by the ‘absolute spirit’. In the ‘absolute spirit’, Hegel believed that there is a logical spirit in the universe, and its external manifestation is the material world. Then one day I suddenly realized: if we assume that ‘humanity’ is a whole, then what is the absolute spirit of ‘humanity’?”

If we consider "humanity" as a whole...

Upon hearing these words, Engels' consciousness became somewhat blurred, as if a strange mechanism had been activated in his mind, and the will that had slumbered within his bloodline for countless years seemed to awaken...

Meanwhile, inside a private residence in Europe.

In an inconspicuous corner, there stands a female sculpture less than twenty centimeters tall, an ancient sculpture that seems to have witnessed many years. Although it is frequently wiped, it is still difficult to hide the occasional traces of rust. The pupils are empty, as if some gemstones that were once inlaid there have been removed. However, its lifelike appearance still allows one to imagine its former heroic posture.

The sculpture is covered with countless mysterious runes, from Christianity, West African Voodoo, ancient Egypt, and Nordic Germanic religions. Whether from the East or the West, countless runes are inscribed on this sculpture, as if someone is trying to suppress this small sculpture with the power of all gods.

However, accompanied by a sentence from a distant region, inside the sculpture...

"Pfft..." Suddenly, an eye opened on that heart, its vertical pupil like a snake, cold and terrifying.

……

"Engels said that the earliest humans were bound by nature, unrestrained, unaware, knowing nothing, understanding nothing, and conforming to the will of nature like animals. Everything was a necessary result, and this was the kingdom of necessity."

Unaware of his good friend's bowed head and silence, Marx simply refilled his empty beer glass and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"But the kingdom of necessity is not long-lasting. Humanity gradually began to grasp the knowledge of nature, created tools, and used tools and experience to transform nature. Engels and Aristotle said, 'Man is a rational animal.' Humanity relies on reason to control nature and ultimately uses reason to consciously transform the world, thereby achieving freedom. This process is the 'kingdom of freedom.'"

"Engels, for example, society and law are products of the 'kingdom of freedom'."

"Animals don't understand what society and law are, and the earliest humans didn't understand what society and law are either. But through continuous experience and exploration, humans gradually realized the laws governing the development of things and mastered them. They formulated a series of laws and systems and consciously tried to make human society better by changing these laws and systems."

As he spoke, Marx stopped, raised the full beer glass in front of him, and drank.

Engels covered his head, as if a faint female voice was murmuring in his mind, expressing her doubts. Finally, Engels couldn't help but ask the question in response to the voice.

"So?"

"so?"

Marx paused, looking at his good friend with some surprise. He had thought his friend would be able to understand what he was about to say, but he could only shake his head and say something.

"So Engels said, this is precisely the instinct of mankind to consciously transform the world, rather than to submit to the nature that gives them."

"Think about it, when laws are made, what are they aimed at? Crimes and cases that have not yet occurred. And what are reforms of the social system aimed at? Conflicts and crises that have not yet formed. Before these dangers have even appeared, humans rely on their ideals to consciously try to avoid them in advance. This is something that animals driven purely by instinct do not have."

"Animals are ignorant and act on instinct without any prior planning. Humans, on the other hand, possess rationality. They know how to plan for their future and consciously avoid dangerous futures so that they can move towards a better future."

"The rise and fall of a species should be inevitable. Ignorance leads to birth, ignorance to death, ignorance to slaughter, ignorance to competition... Survival of the fittest. Species with advantages will inevitably survive, while those with disadvantages will inevitably perish. This is the inevitable fate bestowed by nature. Animals that survive do not know why they survive, they are bewildered and ignorant. Animals that die do not know why they die, they are bewildered and ignorant."

"But humans are different. Relying on their own reason and wisdom, and through the lessons of experience, humans consciously try to avoid dangerous futures, unite with their kind, avoid danger, and no longer submit to the 'survival of the fittest' ordained by nature. In the end, they rely on reason and science to transform the world. They consciously make commerce more prosperous, consciously make technology more advanced, and consciously make civilization more flourishing. They have escaped the control of nature, put their destiny in their own hands, and ultimately achieved true freedom."

As he spoke, Marx looked at his friend who was deep in thought and said earnestly.

"This is an era of humanity. People no longer need to blindly submit to nature or to some mysterious god. They can rely on their own reason and wisdom to control their own destiny."

"Engels, this is the transition from the realm of necessity of ignorance to the realm of freedom of reason that transforms the world."

However, what Marx failed to see was...

Behind Engels stood an invisible phantom, the gentle figure that should have long since vanished, listening quietly, a look of deep concentration on his face.

True...freedom?
……

And somewhere far away, those vertical pupils that opened above the heart gazed coldly at the distant sky through the obstruction of sculptures and houses.

(End of this chapter)