From: Jerry Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Thu Nov 02 2006 - 09:06:34 EST
Hi Dogan: Responding briefly to a couple of points: > He went to Paris where he met his friend Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) in 1844. > From now on almost everything they produced was more or less a common work. It is not the case< I believe, that most of Marx's writings on political economy should be seen as being the "common work" of M&E. There is also much that was original in E's work (obviously including his writings after M's death) which can not be seen as being the collaborative work of M&E. I realize, of course, that the relation of M to E has been a big topic of debate over the years, but I think you bend the stick too much in the direction of continuity between the works of M & E. For example: >>> Two concepts are essential to understand Marx’s system: dialectical and historical materialism. Dialectic is an Ancient Greek concept but may also be found in the philosophy of other civilizations. I t is a theory of logic which wants to reflect the structure and the development of the world. Most comprehensive system of dialectic is developed by Hegel in its idealist form. It is a theory of the motion of the terms. Marx gains his theory of logic by reversing the Hegelian system. It is therefore called dialectical materialism. It wants to explain genesis of the motion in the world from within. It implies that there are laws of motion, which govern nature, society and thought. These fundamental laws concern the nature of natural and social phenomena. It suggests, first, that every natural and social phenomenon may be seen as a unity of opposing qualities. The contradiction or struggle between these opposing qualities is then the cause of motion. It supposes that, second, this motion proceeds from gradual quantitative changes to a revolutionary change of quality. It assumes that, third, in this process of revolutionary change there is a permanent process of negation, which brings about new qualities. Historical materialism is the application of dialectic to society and social history <<<< Where is the philosophy of dialectical materialism, as distinct from historical materialism, to be found in the writings of Marx? It is certainly true that Engels held some of the perspectives of what came to be called dialectical materialism (as, for instance, explained in _Dialectics of Nature_) but that does not mean that Marx shared those perspectives. In solidarity, Jerry
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