The Dialectical Relationship Between Theory and Fact

True knowledge comes from practice; practice is the fact, and true knowledge is the theory—theory originates from practice. Practice and true knowledge are not merely a matter of matching each other; rather, they are a unified relationship of mutual reinforcement, with practice coming first and theory coming after. Those who have not undergone practice must act in accordance with correct and truthful theory, verifying whether the theory is correct through practice; verifying a theory also requires practice. Without the ability to practice, and without knowing the methods of practice, one cannot prove whether a theory is correct, nor can one derive a correct theory.

Whether some so-called facts are actually facts is also worth scrutinizing. What appears on the surface to be a fact may not actually be a fact, while what does not appear to be a fact may in reality be one. This requires wisdom to discern; without wisdom, one cannot discern it. Wisdom means having grasped and fully possessed correct theoretical methods, and using these methods to guide practice, testing the so-called facts in practice—only then can one arrive at a correct and reasonable conclusion.