陳獨秀是新文化運動的旗手之一，他早年提倡的「新道德」大體上有三個層次的內容，一是以「新」為道德，二是現代西方資產階級的道德為新道德，三是歌頌反抗的、力的道德。正是在第三個層次的內容上與後來提倡的革命道德和馬克思主義的道德及其社會改造思想，產生了內在的聯繫。陳獨秀在理論上雖然將「倫理的覺悟」看作是中華民族「最後覺悟之最後覺悟」，但在具體的革命實踐運動中，他的新道德思想還是緊密地與社會改造運動結合在一起，故其「新道德」理想與「國民道德」建設的社會革命任務結合在一起。陳在早期是思想上的革命家，中後期是革命家加思想家。他在1915至1921年的「新道德」思想裡已經包含了後來革命家加思想家的萌芽，此點是他與新文化運動的另一位旗手——胡適極其不同的地方。

Chen Duxiu was a standard-bearer in the new culture movement. Early Chen Duxiu propounded “new morality” in three senses: 1. Renewing as the defining feature of morality, 2. Modern Western bourgeois morality as the content of new morality, 3. valuing the strength of the resistance to suppression as the basic orientation of morality. There is an intrinsic connection between these three senses of Chen Duxiu’s new morality on the one hand, and on the other hand the morality of revolution, Marxist morality, and social reforms as he later propounded. Although in theory Chen Duxiu regards “ethical enlightenment” as the final enlightenment of final enlightenment” for Chinese people, in practice of revolution, his thought on new morality is closely related to the movement of social reform. Therefore the ideal of new morality is closely related to the task of social reform in the reconstruction of the morality of the people. Early Chen was a revolutionary theorist, Chen in his middle and late period was both a revolutionary politician and theorist. The thought on “new morality” that he propounded in the period between 1915-1921 had already contained the seeds of his later thought and practice. On this point he is very different from Hu Shi, another standard-bearer of the new culture movement.