I would agree with you that some of Heidegger's philosophy is important and needs to be absorbed by Marxists. I imagine you would agree that Adorno's critique of Heidegger is also important as well as being more politically conducive to the Marxist project.
You have clarified matters somewhat in your reply but I still wish to ask a question. Is the value of right-wing or liberal writers that they bring into focus questions which Marxist writers haven't properly considered? I don't know if you have seen a recent book by Perry Anderson called "Spectrum: from right to left in the world of ideas" but he seems to hold the view that Marxist writers *have* on the whole properly considered the questions but for some unspecified reason Marxism has not won out. It's an enormous question, I know. But what do you think? Phil Walden -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ralph Dumain Sent: 03 April 2008 08:45 To: marxism-thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu Subject: Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Vienna Circle etc. Bad grammar aside, I thought my point was non-mysterious. If, after I've given a detailed argument as to why some philosophy is false and harmful, someone retorts that philosopher X actually had politically progressive views, why should I then be more favorably disposed towards said bullshit? Your question is the reverse: what individuals (thinkers, presumably) do I find fruitful though not politically progressive? I would imagine there must be thousands, but why is this even a question? The more important question in either of these scenarios is: is there an intrinsic connection between a body of thought and a politics, and what is its nature? The case of Heidegger is a particularly apt example, though there are countless others. At 01:36 AM 4/3/2008, Phil Walden wrote: >Ralph you say that you are "not terribly impressed to show a favorable >attitude towards philosophies just because some of their proponents were >political progressive individuals. This shows a rather provincial >approach to intellectual problems and their broader ideological >implications." I am intrigued by this because although I look to a range of >philosophical resources - Hegel, Marx, Adorno, Jameson, etc - they do tend >for me to be politically progressive figures. > >I wonder if you can give any examples of how you find non-politically >progressive individuals to be fruitful? > >Phil Walden > >-----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ralph >Dumain >Sent: 03 April 2008 05:08 >To: marxism-thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu >Subject: Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Vienna Circle etc. > >I wonder if this is unequivocally true about the Frankfurters. For >sure, Adorno, Horkheimer, and Marcuse had an animus against >positivism, but it is not necessarily the case that they viewed the >neopositivists themselves as reactionaries. The closest approach to >specific animosity I can think of is some correspondence in the '30s >I read about where Horkheimer refused to participate in dialogue with >Neurath, but I don't trust my memory. > >I would like to point out for the general purpose of such >discussions, I am not terribly impressed to show a favorable attitude >towards philosophies just because some of their proponents were >political progressive individuals. This shows a rather provincial >approach to intellectual problems and their broader ideological >implications. > >At 08:09 PM 4/2/2008, Jim Farmelant wrote: > > > >On Wed, 2 Apr 2008 09:53:37 +0100 "rasherrs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >writes: > > > Thank you for the help in relation to the Vienna Circle. It is a > > > circle > > > that has been much misunderstood in radical left circles. When I was > > > in my > > > late teens I was led to the view that it was a crassly reactionary > > > group. > > > >The Frankfurters in particular pushed that view of the > >Circle, as did many Soviet or pro-Soviet writers, > >who emphasized Leninist opposition to Machism. _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ 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
