Trees, not forests

Trees, not forests

Metaphor only sees the part, not the whole or the whole. Or short-sighted. [source]: Mao Zedong's "on contradiction · the particularity of contradiction": "or it's called seeing only the part, not the whole, only the trees, not the forest."

essential information

[idiom]: see only the trees, not the forest [Pinyin]: zh ǐ Ji à NSH ù m ù, B ù Ji à ns ē NL í n [explanation]: refers to seeing only the part, not the whole or the whole. Or short-sighted. [source]: Mao Zedong's "on contradiction · the particularity of contradiction": "or only see the part, not the whole, only see the trees, not the forest." [near synonym]: blinding, shortsighted [grammar]: complex sentence; predicate, attributive; derogatory

Detailed explanation

Mao Zedong's theory of contradiction leads to two kinds of cosmology, one is metaphysics, the other is dialectics. And this sentence is a metaphysical point of view, that is, to look at problems in isolation. Metaphysics, also known as metaphysics, belongs to idealist cosmology in a long historical period, and occupies a dominant position in people's thoughts. In Europe, materialism in the early days of the bourgeoisie was also metaphysical. As the social and economic situation of many European countries has reached the stage of high development of capitalism, the productive forces, class struggle and science have all developed to unprecedented levels in history, and the industrial proletariat has become the greatest driving force of historical development, thus the Marxist materialist dialectic cosmology has emerged. The so-called metaphysical or vulgar evolutionist view of the world is to see the world from an isolated, static and one-sided point of view. This kind of cosmology regards all things in the world, the forms and types of all things, as always isolated from each other and never changing. If there is any change, it is only the increase or decrease of quantity and the change of place. The reason for the increase, decrease and change is not in the inside of things, but in the outside of things, that is, it is driven by external forces. The supporters of metaphysics deny the theory that things develop because of internal contradictions advocated by materialist dialectics. Therefore, they can not explain the qualitative diversity of things, and can not explain the phenomenon that a kind of quality turns into other germplasms. "Heaven does not change, so does Tao.". "Seeing only trees, not forests" can also be understood as metaphysicians unifying all trees, only admitting one common feature, ignoring the objective specificity and variability of each individual, so that they can not get a comprehensive understanding of things unilaterally.

Counterexample

The fire at the gate of the city will bring disaster to the fish in the pond. (this is the materialist dialectical argument, which shows that there is a universal connection in the material world, and everything is connected with other things. It is not the reason for the change of this thing, it is the result of the development of that thing, it is not a link of this movement, it is an integral part of another process. There are mutual constraints and conditions for the existence and development of things. This universal connection makes human society, the earth and even the vast universe an organic whole, rather than a simple accumulation of innumerable accidental things.) Pick up the sesame and lose the watermelon. This is a folk saying. It means to catch the small but lose the big.