ABSTRACT
In Elements of Sociology Li Da commences by reminding the reader that dialectics, logic and the epistemology of dialectical materialism constitute a unified philosophy. According to the reflection theory of dialectical materialism, Li continues, consciousness is a reflection of the objective world in the human brain; in other words, consciousness is an image of objective reality. Li reiterates that the starting point of knowledge is perception. Li explains that human knowledge of the objective world must go through many different moments and stages, and between the stages of perception and thought exists a dialectical connection. Judgment and inference are forms of the movement of thought, forms of the movement of concepts. The second half of Elements of Sociology returns to the theme, extensively canvassed in Li Da's earlier writings on historical materialism, of the relationship between the economic structure of society, the political and legal superstructures, and forms of consciousness and ideology.
