Re: [OPE-L] marx's conception of labour

From: Dogan Goecmen (Dogangoecmen@AOL.COM)
Date: Sat Nov 18 2006 - 05:33:04 EST


Ian, You say:
Consider a thermostat. Does the temperature setting, if  it differs
from the current ambient temperature of the room, refer to a  future
temperature? Would it do so even if humans were not there to  observe
it?

I think the answer is yes to both questions. The  thermostat therefore
has intentionality of a kind. It represents the absence  of a
temperature. And it has a causal structure that changes the world  to
absent that absence. It is a goal-following mechanism. The goal  is
real, a part of objective reality, rather than the  subjective
ascription of a human scientist attempting to understand  its
operation.


Just few questions:


Where there a thermostat at all if there were not any human being? Where
does the 'intentionality' of the thermostat come from? Is it not a product of
human labour and is it not so that humans put their intention into practice by
producing themostat for a particular purpose?


Cheers

Dogan


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