Charles Brown
Victor victor Of course objectivity reality exists, but we have to realize that what Marx, Lenin and other intelligent Marxists like Ilyenkov meant by objective reality is not reality contemplated by some totally uninvolved philosophical being. Just the reverse is true objective reality is only known through what Lenin calls "revolutionary practice", the transformation of one object into another through labour. It is only when we know how and under what conditions (including of course our own activities) an object becomes something else that we cognize its real character. This is as true of the child knocking about a gewgaw hanging over his crib as it is for the physicist smashing atoms. There is virtually no aspect of human knowledge (not human activity) that is truly a priori. Oudeyis ^^^^^^ CB: Yes,in saying that objective reality exists, I did NOT indicate any break with The Theses on Feuerbach ,esp. 1, 2 and 11 here. Marx distinguishes his materialism from all those hitherto existing by by making the subject active not contemplative, like Feuerbach. Practice is the test of theory, otherwise it's scholastic. Philosophers have interpreted the world, the thing is to change it. Lenin's _Materialism and Empirio-Criticism_ is thoroughly infused with Engels' elaboration of these principles in _Anti-Duhring_. ^^^^^^^ CB: There should be a "not" above (capitalized), "I did NOT indicate, etc." Marx terms the activity of the active subject practical-critical, or revolutionary activity. Engels defines practice as experimentation and industry. Through practice we turn Kant's things-in-themselves into things-for-us, hopefully, though that's harder said than done. Even Einstein's discoveries are problematic as to whether they turn some things into "for us" or "agin us". General Relativity's main impact in most people's lives has ben as premise for nuclear fission, I think. Nuclear weapons are things-against-us. What about influence at a distance ? Fields of energy and humans being influenced by the world at a distance :>) _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
