Marginal Notes〔2〕on the Article “In Recent Years, Discussions on Cybernetic Philosophical Problems Have Been Very Lively in Soviet Academic Circles”〔1〕(December 1963) I. The Conciliatory Faction, the Prudent Faction II. This is a subjective idealist, metaphysical theory that denies the existence of objective laws independent of human will. The objective law of unbalanced development determines that peace can be kept under certain conditions, because neither of the opposing sides wishes to go to war. However, when new conditions arise and one of the two sides, independently of anyone’s will, comes to believe that war is unavoidable, then peace can no longer be controlled, and war breaks out. Printed from Mao Zedong’s manuscript.

Note [1] This article, published in Issue 639 of the “Internal Reference” (Supplement) compiled by the Xinhua News Agency on December 11, 1963, describes the discussions in the Soviet Union since the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union concerning the philosophical problems of cybernetics. The article recounts the extensive debate within Soviet academia over cybernetics—the shift from negation to affirmation—and outlines the divergent views expressed at a joint theoretical conference on cybernetic philosophy held in June 1962, convened by the philosophical seminars of various institutes of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. These views pertained to such issues as the definition of cybernetics, whether machines can think, the simulation and artificial creation of living organisms, cybernetic logic, and the relationship between cybernetics and society. At the June 1963 plenary session of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Mstislav Keldysh, President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, declared that cybernetics had “influenced the development of world outlook,” constituted “an entire epoch in scientific knowledge, as well as in economic and cultural progress,” and had exerted “a tremendous impact on the very nature of labor and the entire structure of human life.” Note [2] In Part (I) of this text, the three characters “The Conciliatory Faction” are marginal notes written by Mao Zedong beside the passage stating: “The view that machines can think is not convincing; rather than setting machines in opposition to humans, it would be better to study more thoroughly the question of coexistence between humans and machines.” The three characters “The Prudent Faction” appear as marginal notes next to the sentence: “It is believed that the issue of machines simulating thought still requires experimental research; the fundamental difference between machines and humans lies in humanity’s capacity for creative activity. Henceforth, cybernetics should focus on the study of creativity.” Part (II) consists of Mao Zedong’s marginal notes on the views set forth in the text by Burzhev, who argued that cybernetics should be employed to resolve problems of social adjustment, that cybernetics ought to play a role in securing peace, and that peace is both controllable and should be controlled.