Karl Marx Existence and Social Consciousness - 2581 Words

A paper written for Classical Sociology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Introduction â€Å"It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness† – Karl Marx The above notion by Karl Marx is the base of all his succeeding works; it is Marx’s concept of Man and how he critiqued the existing dominant ideology of German thought, and relates his argument to societal change and history – specifically the relations of production. In order to explain what Marx meant by the proposed notion, I will have to explain Marx’s concept of Man, and how an activity (labour) was a primordial means for Man to gain self-realization, which laid the grounds†¦show more content†¦Thought comes from being, but being does not come from thought† (Hamilton 1974: 23); Man is the subject and God is the predicate as God is an expression of Man’s thought; social product. He also coined the term â€Å"species-being† (â€Å"species† as a biological commonality, and â€Å"being† as having a universal reflexivity: consciousness). The theories by both thinkers formed the ideological nucleus of Marx’s works . Marx’s Concept of Human Nature Marx’s materialism contrasts with idealism that dominated German thought during Marx’s time. Marx asserts the notion of praxis, putting theory into practice; that in order for a theory to be valid is how it informed action. Marx expulsed the German ideology with his first premise of all human history: â€Å"the existence of living human individuals† (Marx 1980: 165). His first premise was reinforced with the second and eighth thesis on Feuerbach: â€Å"The question whether objective truth can be attributed to human thinking is not a question of theory but is a practical question. Man must prove the truth...†; â€Å"All social life is essentially practical. All mysteries which lead theory to mysticism find their rational solution in human practice and in the comprehension of this practice† (Marx 1977: 156-8). With the philosophical findings of both Hegel and Feuerbach, Marx formulates his concept of nature of Man and consciousness. Nature according toShow MoreRelatedKarl Marx s Theories Of History And The Theory Of Human Nature Essay1714 Words   |  7 PagesKarl Marx was a nineteenth century philosopher, born in Trier, Prussia (Germany) in 1818 to a middle class family and later died in 1883. Karl Marx’s philosophies on society, politics and economics is collectively understood as Marxism. He was a materialist and an atheist who had a profound impact on the world of intellectual thought. 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