The Dialectical Relationship Between Theory and Fact

Practice yields true knowledge; practice is fact, true knowledge is theory, and theory originates from practice. Practice and true knowledge are not merely complementary but form a unified, mutually reinforcing relationship, with practice preceding theory. Those who have not yet engaged in practice must rely on correct and truthful theories to guide their practice; to verify the correctness of a theory, one must also engage in practice. Without the ability to practice or knowledge of the methods of practice, one cannot verify the correctness of a theory nor arrive at a correct theory.

Whether certain things are indeed facts is also subject to scrutiny. Some things appear to be facts but may not be, while others may not seem like facts but actually are. This requires wisdom to discern; without wisdom, one cannot distinguish. Wisdom means mastering and possessing correct theoretical methods, using these methods to guide practice, and testing so-called facts through practice; only then can one arrive at correct and reasonable results.