Philosophy of Earth Science is the abbreviation of philosophy of Earth Science. The philosophy of earth science is a subject that studies the philosophical problems in the theory and practice of earth science. Geo-philosophy is a discipline that studies the universal relations and laws between geo-theory and geo-practice under the guidance of Marxist philosophy. Ontology, epistemology, methodology, axiology, science and technology, decision-making theory and theme theory of geoscience philosophy are important components of geoscience philosophy.

Geoscience philosophy generalizes the categories, laws and theories of geoscience from the perspective of Marxist philosophy, instead of replacing geoscience research with philosophical conclusions; Geoscience philosophy provides theoretical guidance, thinking methods and working principles for geoscience research and practice.

The research field of geoscience philosophy is very extensive, involving the laws of earth movement and crustal change, philosophical thinking in theoretical research and practice of various branches of geoscience, thinking mode of land and resources exploration, creative thinking of exploring metallogenic regularity and discovering mineral deposits, and the overall relationship between man and resources, environment and society, geoscience and economy, geoscience and culture, geoscience and development. Among them, the relationship between man and land, that is, the coordinated development of man and nature, population, economy, society, resources and environment, is the basic problem of geoscience philosophy.

The development of philosophy of earth science can be divided into three historical forms. One is the geoscience philosophy in the form of natural philosophy, such as Aristotle's "four natures theory" and China's ancient "vicissitudes" theory; The second is the geoscience philosophy in the form of natural science materialism, such as the geoscience thoughts of Da Vinci, Wei Gena, Hao Tun and Lyle; The third is the geoscience philosophy in the form of dialectics of nature. Today, the philosophy of earth science is in its third historical period. In the third development period, the philosophy of earth science took a step forward and formed an independent discipline-philosophy of earth science.

The remarkable feature of geoscience philosophy is that it is guided by Marxist philosophy and consciously uses Marxist philosophy to guide geoscience theoretical research and geoscience practice. Under the guidance of Marxist philosophy, geoscience is a historical necessity and the need of its own development. This is because: First, earth science is undergoing a transformation from traditional geoscience to earth system science, which needs to be summarized and integrated. This landmark change requires a scientific world outlook and methodology; Second, the earth is not a pure natural object, but a synthesis of nature and society, and earth science is not a pure natural science. It is particularly important to guide earth science research with dialectical materialism and historical materialism. Third, earth science serves socialist modernization and needs the guidance of Marxist scientific world outlook and methodology.

China's study of geoscience philosophy has two distinct characteristics. First, consciously and unabashedly declare that dialectical materialism and historical materialism are their world outlook and methodology under the guidance of Marxist philosophy; Second, adhere to the combination of theory and practice and consciously carry out research activities around the central task of national modernization and social development.

The study of geoscience philosophy has its own clear goals and tasks. First, promote the coordinated development of land and resources development, environmental protection and resources and environment, and better serve the construction of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society and sustainable development; Second, promote the construction of spiritual civilization and political civilization; Third, to serve the independent innovation and development of earth science; The fourth is to serve the development of Marxist philosophy. The study of geoscience philosophy mainly completes the task through its own cognitive function, coordination function and methodology function.

Earth science is a general term covering geology, geography, geophysics, geochemistry, atmospheric science, space science, marine science and terrestrial science. Geoscience philosophy guides geoscience research from the aspects of world outlook and methodology, which runs through the formation and development of geoscience. Geoscience research and geoscience philosophy are born with the times. "Mountain is valley" and "sea is field" have a long history in China, which is a regular summary of philosophers' observation of the objective world by using philosophical thoughts. Many senior geologists in China consciously use dialectical materialism and historical materialism to guide practical activities. He learned to use dialectics of nature to guide his work, and published some guiding works on the objective laws of geological science in different periods and stages of development, which promoted geological work. The "home of two theories" of Daqing petroleum geologists and the application of Mao Zedong's philosophy to prospecting can be said to be the practical activities of geoscience philosophy research.

In China, geoscience philosophy, as a new discipline, has a history of only 22 years since 1983 held the first national symposium on geoscience dialectics in Fuzhou. Over the past 22 years, the vast number of geoscientists have continuously and deeply carried out academic research, put forward a series of valuable theoretical viewpoints, initially established the basic theoretical framework of geoscience philosophy, and formed an academic activity system combining national academic annual meeting, regional academic seminars and special seminars. Every annual meeting focuses on the task of the economic and social development center and the frontier of earth science. For example, using the principle of dialectical materialism to explain major geoscience problems in economic and social development; Epistemology and methodology in various disciplines of earth science; Dialectical analysis of the mineral situation and countermeasures in China-Also on the philosophy of prospecting: coordinating the relationship between man and nature-opening up a new field of geoscience exploration: strengthening the study of geoscience philosophy and giving full play to the role of geoscience in sustainable development; Research on geoscience philosophy and building a well-off society in an all-round way. A number of high-level research results have been produced and a number of influential monographs have been published.

The historical experience of China's study of geoscience philosophy focuses on one thing: keeping pace with the times, integrating theory with practice, and serving economic construction and social development. Constantly enrich and develop geoscience philosophy.

Second, the study of geoscience philosophy should serve economic construction and social development.

The value of science lies not only in understanding the world, but also in transforming it. The whole value of geoscience philosophy, in the final analysis, is to serve economic construction and social development, and to seek its own development in this service process.

Serving economic construction and social development is not only the direction, goal and task of geoscience philosophy research, but also the way and method to achieve this goal and task. Specifically, it is to provide policy suggestions for government decision-making; Providing intellectual support and consulting services for economic construction and social development; Improve the level of education and cultivate talents; Popularize science and culture and improve the scientific and cultural quality of the whole people, and so on. At present and in the future, it is generally to serve the construction of a harmonious society and make contributions in the following aspects.

(1) Serving Scientific Outlook on Development in the field of land and resources.

First of all, we must solve the understanding of the situation of land and resources. At present, there are different views on some major land resources, especially mineral resources, marine resources and land resources. Different understanding of the research object will lead to different judgments on the status of resources, which will lead to different forms and ways of using resources. This is not only a problem of resources themselves, but also an economic and political problem. For example, in recent years, the supply of mineral resources is tight, and the dependence on foreign countries such as oil, iron ore and copper has increased. Therefore, there is a view that since the economy is globalized, we should make full use of two resources and two markets. Pay attention to foreign countries; There is also a view that this will pose a threat to national security, so we should base ourselves on the domestic market. First of all, it is necessary to find out the resources and security level of China, and then take corresponding countermeasures. At present, there is no consensus on the resources of China. At the recently concluded Eighth International Mineral Resources Conference, some foreign experts thought that "China has the ability to solve the resource problem by itself". Different viewpoints affect national decision-making and policy formulation, so the policy orientation is different. Vagueness in theory will inevitably lead to blindness in action. This difference in understanding is mainly one-sided except impetuous and utilitarian. The understanding of the object depends on the ability, wisdom and method of the subject. In addition to specific natural science methods, it also needs the guidance of geoscience philosophy.

Secondly, the implementation of Scientific Outlook on Development should use scientific thinking, scientific theory and scientific methods to guide economic and social development. In the past, extensive economic's growth mode of "high input, high consumption, high emission, uncoordinated, difficult to recycle and low efficiency" has been unsustainable. Fundamentally changing this growth pattern in extensive economic is the concrete action and inevitable result of adhering to Scientific Outlook on Development. At present, China's economic and social development is in an important transition period. Land, minerals, oceans and other important land resources have become the bottleneck of sustainable development, which is a major problem to be studied and solved in the implementation of Scientific Outlook on Development. In such a specific development period of China, there are many problems that need to be studied and solved, and rational thinking, theoretical research and theoretical guidance are particularly important. The implementation of Scientific Outlook on Development has brought historic development opportunities to the study of geoscience philosophy.

(B) to serve the building of a harmonious society

Building a harmonious society requires a scientific world outlook and methodology. To stand among the nations in the world, a nation must have a strong spiritual pillar in addition to a strong material civilization. A society with material civilization, spiritual civilization and political culture is a harmonious society. Engels said: Only a nation with rational thinking can stand among the nations in the world. The real connotation of China's economic and social development is the improvement of people's quality and the enhancement of scientific and technological strength. Here, the most common and difficult thing is to deal with the relationship between good people and between people and nature. Only by improving the overall moral quality can a nation truly consciously and rationally realize the dignity and inalienable basic obligations and rights of every individual in nature. Only by building a harmonious society can each individual of this nation and society truly gain full self-confidence and development strength. Man and the environment are interdependent, interdependent, and the unity of opposites. The so-called harmony between man and land means that man and nature jointly find a balance point, which is dynamic and spiraling. To build a harmonious society, there are many problems to be studied and solved, and the quality of science and culture needs to be greatly improved, which provides a platform for the development of geoscience philosophy.

(C) to serve the construction of a conservation-oriented society

Resource-saving society refers to an economic form that takes comprehensive measures in various fields of social production, circulation and consumption to improve the efficiency of resource utilization, obtain the maximum economic and social benefits with the least resource consumption, and ensure the sustainable development of economy and society. To build a conservation-oriented society, we must firmly establish and conscientiously implement Scientific Outlook on Development, vigorously adjust the economic structure, speed up technological progress, raise the awareness of resource conservation of the whole society, comprehensively apply economic, legal and necessary administrative means, and fundamentally change the "high consumption and low efficiency" growth mode of extensive economic as soon as possible. This fundamental change requires not only changes in production and management methods, but also changes in concepts and lifestyles. China has the national conditions of China, so it doesn't have to be like the United States, where a family has several cars and villas. China per capita does not have so many resources such as land. Deserts, plateaus and other environments unsuitable for human habitation and survival account for a large part of the country. We can't aim at their lifestyle. The United States accounts for 2.5% of the world population and consumes 25% of the world's energy. To reach this level, it is not enough for China to bring all the energy in the world. It is necessary and possible for China to take an innovative development path. There are not only ways for latecomers to win, but also skills of exchanging time for space, that is, taking the road of circular economy with less resource consumption, less environmental pollution and high added value. To embark on a road of sustainable development, we must think rationally and have long-term goals. Under the condition of market economy, we should accurately grasp the degree of macro-control and market allocation, and we should not let it develop naturally or be completely driven by the market. What you feel may not be understood, but only when you understand it can you feel better. What is important at present is to solve cognitive problems. Geoscience philosophy has great achievements in improving the efficiency of resource utilization, reducing resource consumption and raising the awareness of resource conservation in the whole society. In order to establish a scientific concept of conservation, the publicity and education of geoscience philosophy plays an important role in establishing the consciousness of energy saving, water saving, raw material saving, land saving and intensive use, comprehensive utilization of resources and circular economy.

(4) Serving the coordinated development of regional economy and society.

With the linkage of these four regional economic sectors, the coordinated development of regional economy and society in China has entered a new stage. The central government has put forward the policy of coordinating urban and rural development, regional development, economic and social development, harmonious development between man and nature, domestic development and opening up. These "five overall plans" need theoretical elucidation and practical advancement. China's 9.6 million square kilometers of mainland and 3 million square kilometers of sea area, under the joint action of Eurasia plate, Pacific plate and Indian Ocean plate, have formed the diversity of China's geological background, the complexity of geological structure and the uneven distribution of resources, which has created three geographical steps in the east, middle and west of China. This not only constitutes the diversity and complementarity of the coordinated development of regional economy and society, but also brings challenges and increases the difficulty for the coordinated development of urban and rural areas and society. Under the background of different regional geological conditions and coordinated regional development, geoscience philosophy needs to explain theoretically, summarize experiences, discover laws and guide practice between the constant regional geological conditions (relative) and the changeable regional economic and social state, so as to serve the coordinated regional economic and social development.

(5) Serving disaster prevention and mitigation.

Natural disasters are natural phenomena that occur during the movement of the earth, and human activities aggravate or induce natural disasters. Natural disasters are a problem that can not be ignored in sustainable development, and it is also an important topic to coordinate the relationship between man and land. The research work of geoscience philosophy should study and summarize the universal laws from the laws of the occurrence and development of natural disasters, and put forward general principles to guide disaster prevention and mitigation, so as to serve disaster prevention and mitigation.

Recently, various studies on the 11th Five-Year Plan are under way, and the 11th Five-Year Plan is also being formulated. It can be predicted that under the guidance of Scientific Outlook on Development and in the spirit of "people-oriented", seeking harmonious economic and social development will be the main line of economic and social development in the 11th Five-Year Plan. Under this background, how to serve the harmonious development of economy and society in ontology, epistemology, axiology, methodology, decision-making theory and theme theory is the historical mission and scientific responsibility of the vast number of geoscience philosophy researchers.

Thirdly, the prosperity and development of geoscience philosophy.

In 2004, the Central Committee issued the Opinions on Further Prospering and Developing Philosophy and Social Sciences, which profoundly expounded the great significance of prospering and developing philosophy and social sciences from the perspective of practicing Theory of Three Represents, pointed out the development direction and put forward important measures. This shows that the party and the government attach great importance to the cause of philosophy and social sciences, and also shows the ardent hope of the party and the government for the workers of philosophy and social sciences. Geoscience philosophy is an important part of philosophy and social sciences, and it is also an important link between philosophy and social sciences and natural sciences, especially geoscience. Prospering and developing geoscience philosophy is the historical mission of most geoscience philosophers. We should strive to improve ourselves and shoulder this historical responsibility.

First, we must unswervingly adhere to the guidance of Marxism.

The era we live in today is an era with peace and development as the theme, world multipolarization, economic globalization and social informatization as the main trends, and various social systems, ideologies and cultural competitions coexist. Comrade Hu Jintao pointed out: "We will face the pressure of the economic and technological superiority of western developed countries for a long time". In this situation, we must adhere to the guidance of Marxism, otherwise we will lose our way. Lenin said, "We will get closer and closer to the truth along Marx's theoretical road (but we will never exhaust it); Along any other road, we can only get chaos and fallacy. "

Researchers of geoscience philosophy should carefully read some books by Marx and Engels and some works by other classic writers. To understand and learn Marxism, we should fully and correctly understand the basic principles of Marxism and deepen our understanding of them. We should combine the new era and new reality, keep pace with the times, blaze new trails, and guide practice with developing Marxism, that is, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and Theory of Three Represents, so as to provide new practical support and theoretical achievements for the development of Marxism in practice.

Second, we should always learn scientific and cultural knowledge.

The development of science and technology changes with each passing day. In particular, the development of earth science is unprecedentedly prosperous. In the development of modern science, earth science has played a leading role, and Engels made an incisive summary in Dialectics of Nature. Nowadays, earth science is moving towards the hall of science with a brand-new attitude, and it will play a great role in economic and social development and move towards new glory. At the same time, her development will provide the carrier and scientific support for the development of philosophy and social sciences, just like the development of modern science. An excellent geoscience philosopher should not only have profound philosophical theories, but also extensively absorb modern scientific knowledge, especially modern earth system scientific knowledge.

Our study of geoscience philosophy is based on whether it reflects the development requirements of advanced productive forces, the development direction of advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of people, as the fundamental measure to measure her purpose, nature, direction and level.

Third, we should unswervingly adhere to the viewpoint of practice.

First of all, we must find "problems" in practice. The responsibility of scientists is to find problems and solve them. Marx said that "the main difficulty is not the answer, but the question" and "the question is the slogan of the times". Researchers of geoscience philosophy should first try to find problems in practice. Avoiding reality is not a materialist, but finding problems is the talent of theoretical researchers. Secondly, the problems found in practice, especially the overall, strategic and forward-looking major issues are studied and discussed. Through deepening research and innovating the theory of geoscience philosophy, the function and role of geoscience philosophy in serving the economy and society can be fully exerted.

Finding problems depends on practice, and solving problems depends on practice. Mobile production activities and scientific experiments constantly raise new problems, which need to be studied and solved constantly.

Fourth, unswervingly carry forward the scientific spirit, pursue high-level research results, and build and develop a scientific system of geoscience philosophy with the characteristics of the times and China.

The social value of our geoscience philosophers is the recognition and application of our research results by society. There is only one criterion to judge whether we have done something. The problem we are engaged in is a philosophical problem of geoscience, a scientific problem and a complex system engineering involving philosophy, social science and natural science. Earth science is changing from traditional earth science to modern system science, which provides a new generalization and a new carrier for the philosophy of earth science. In the new era, we should systematically consider and scientifically demonstrate the connotation and extension of geoscience philosophy, its theoretical basis, its practicality and operability, and its expected goal of discipline development. Think more, think deeply, think carefully, seek truth from facts, be realistic and innovative. Seriously study and produce more excellent products.

Constructing and developing a scientific system of geoscience philosophy with the characteristics of the times and China is the goal of geoscience philosophy development, the requirement of economic construction and social development, the call of the times and the sacred mission of our geoscience philosophy researchers. With the globalization of the world economy becoming more and more open, geoscience philosophy researchers should serve the country, face the world, absorb the world's advanced scientific research achievements and scientific theories, and inspire and enrich our research. Implementing Scientific Outlook on Development and building a harmonious society provide unprecedented historical opportunities for the development of geoscience philosophy. We should study the basic laws of geoscience philosophy with a new height and broad vision, build a scientific system of geoscience philosophy with the characteristics of the times and China, and make unremitting efforts for the prosperity and development of geoscience philosophy.

(Original Expert's Suggestion of Consulting and Research Center of Ministry of Land and Resources, June 5-438, 2005 +20051October 8)