Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] [marxistphilosophy] Religion Marx (1)
Great reading list. Thanks. Naturally, there must have been much progress in Marxist as well as anthropological and sociological analysis of religion since Marx's time. Another question is how Marxology in relation to religion--i.e. analysis of Marx's views on religion--has progressed. There has certainly got to be more on Marx himself. I have an unverified hunch in all of this, that the distance that separates us--in spite of the contemporary existence of religious and other magical and superstitious thinking--from our premodern forbears, is much greater than generally recognized. I'll explain another time. My reading on this topic in recent months has been outside the purview of Marxism, yet these books have forced me to think in a certain dimension that I think generally escapes us moderns, even the religious among us: The Mind of the Bible-Believer (Edmund G. Cohen) Primitive Man as Philosopher (Paul Radin) Violence and the Sacred (Rene Girard) At 10:01 PM 9/25/2007, chris wright wrote: I'll add in the following: Kautsky's Foundations of Christianity; Luxemburg's article on the same matter; Paul Siegel's The Meek and the Militant; Marxism and Religion by David McLellan (1987); Walter Benjamin's musings on religion; Maxime Rodinson's excellent books Islam and Capitalism, Muhammad, and Cult, Ghetto and State; The War of Gods by Michael Lowy; Antonio Gramsci has a variety of things to say about religion in his writing on popular culture; 'Socialism and Religion', and 'Religion' by Anton Pannekoek; I believe Romila Thapar was a Marxist, and he wrote well on religion in India; Joseph Dietgen has material on religion in his essays; Slavoj Zizek writes quite a bit about religion, including The Puppet and the Dwarf and On Belief; I am also fond of the recent essay The Continuing Appeal of Religion by Gilles Dauve I have no idea if Rudolf Siebert's books on the Frankfurt School and religion are any good or even particularly Marxist Making of the English Working Class by E.P. Thompson has some brilliant stuff G.E.M. de Ste. Croix has some excellent work on religion in Antiquity such as 'Early Christian Attitudes to Property and Slavery', alongside his specifically pre-Christian Greco-Roman work. That's all that comes to mind at the moment... s ___ 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
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Religion Marx
Expositions of Marxism have tended to limit treating Feuerbach as a thinker in his own right, but not all scholars, Marxist and non-Marxist, have imposed such limitations. I don't know whether Marx or Kierkegaard even knew of one another's existence, so I don't know what is to be said on that score in terms of the development of either. The Engels piece is interesting in various respects. I would be tempted to find it unsatisfactory, but Engels does mention the importance of the inherited concept of sacrifice. I am not so impressed with the similarities between primitive Christianity and communism, though they might hold propaganda value for many. There are many equally as important factors to consider. Hermeneutics was originally Christian, and I think this includes Schleiermacher, a contemporary of Hegel. But hermeneutics got a big boost in an extra-religious context in the person of Dilthey,a key figure in the development of 19th century thought. At 05:16 PM 9/25/2007, CeJ wrote: One problem is Feuerbach often gets schematized as a stepping stone from Hegel to Marx in the 'progress' of the history of thought. It would tempting to deal with a host of other 19th century thinkers AND Marx. For some in European traditions, it might be interesting to re-visit Sartre, as a synthesis (put simplistically) of Marx and Kierkegaard. Not looking so much at 'Marxist approaches to religion' but simply religion and Marx at what is on the web, and I find the following of interest: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/subject/religion/index.htm http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/subject/religion/book-revelations.htm Still, in the Engels' piece I think we could say this is a Marxist approach to religion (to hermeneutics, which were, as far as I know, originally German Christian hermeneutics before the post-modern episteme gave us things like 'Wittgenstinian approaches to hermeneutics'). CJ ___ 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] Engels review
A HELLO TO ENGELS? by G.W. SMITH Review: Christopher J. Arthur (ed.), Engels Today: A Centenary Appreciation, Res Publica Vol. IV no.2 [1998] http://www.springerlink.com/content/cj681t01212jh4l6/fulltext.pdf Articles from this journal will be available to the general publis for a limited time only. This review both praises and denigrates Engels. I own the book itself, but I can't recall whether I've read it. ___ 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
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Religion Marx
Marx Wartofsky's massive study, Feuerbach (Cambridge University Press,1977), would, I think be an exception to that rule. Jim F. -- Ralph Dumain [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Expositions of Marxism have tended to limit treating Feuerbach as a thinker in his own right, but not all scholars, Marxist and non-Marxist, have imposed such limitations. I don't know whether Marx or Kierkegaard even knew of one another's existence, so I don't know what is to be said on that score in terms of the development of either. The Engels piece is interesting in various respects. I would be tempted to find it unsatisfactory, but Engels does mention the importance of the inherited concept of sacrifice. I am not so impressed with the similarities between primitive Christianity and communism, though they might hold propaganda value for many. There are many equally as important factors to consider. Hermeneutics was originally Christian, and I think this includes Schleiermacher, a contemporary of Hegel. But hermeneutics got a big boost in an extra-religious context in the person of Dilthey,a key figure in the development of 19th century thought. At 05:16 PM 9/25/2007, CeJ wrote: One problem is Feuerbach often gets schematized as a stepping stone from Hegel to Marx in the 'progress' of the history of thought. It would tempting to deal with a host of other 19th century thinkers AND Marx. For some in European traditions, it might be interesting to re-visit Sartre, as a synthesis (put simplistically) of Marx and Kierkegaard. Not looking so much at 'Marxist approaches to religion' but simply religion and Marx at what is on the web, and I find the following of interest: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/subject/religion/index.htm http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/subject/religion/book-revelations.htm Still, in the Engels' piece I think we could say this is a Marxist approach to religion (to hermeneutics, which were, as far as I know, originally German Christian hermeneutics before the post-modern episteme gave us things like 'Wittgenstinian approaches to hermeneutics'). CJ ___ 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
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] [marxistphilosophy] Re: Religion Marx
Yes, indeed. See also my bibliography of books on Feuerbach in English, which is pretty complete unless something new has been published: * http://www.autodidactproject.org/bib/feuerbib.htmlLudwig Feuerbach I don't have some of the more recent books, so I cant' comment. Van Harvey made a splash some years ago in atheist circles, and his book was then easily available. The Feuerbach bicennential passed unnoticed in this area of the world, it seems. This is the bicentennial of Hegel's Phenomenology, but I don't know who is paying attention. At 08:13 AM 9/26/2007, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Marx Wartofsky's massive study, Feuerbach (Cambridge University Press,1977), would, I think be an exception to that rule. Jim F. -- Ralph Dumain [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Expositions of Marxism have tended to limit treating Feuerbach as a thinker in his own right, but not all scholars, Marxist and non-Marxist, have imposed such limitations. .. ___ 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
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] [marxistphilosophy] Hegel's Ph of Spirit
The question was asked: Who is paying attention to the bicentennial of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit? Well, the Hegel Society of Great Britain held its conference this year on that book. It was very well attended with about 70 attendees and the quality of the papers was high. Some of them may appear in the bulletin of that Society which is automatically posted to all members. I suspect that this bicentennial must also have been marked by events in Germany, the US, and France too, although I have no evidence of this. Phil Walden -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ralph Dumain Sent: 26 September 2007 17:10 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; marxism-thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu Subject: Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] [marxistphilosophy] Re: Religion Marx Yes, indeed. See also my bibliography of books on Feuerbach in English, which is pretty complete unless something new has been published: * http://www.autodidactproject.org/bib/feuerbib.htmlLudwig Feuerbach I don't have some of the more recent books, so I cant' comment. Van Harvey made a splash some years ago in atheist circles, and his book was then easily available. The Feuerbach bicennential passed unnoticed in this area of the world, it seems. This is the bicentennial of Hegel's Phenomenology, but I don't know who is paying attention. At 08:13 AM 9/26/2007, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Marx Wartofsky's massive study, Feuerbach (Cambridge University Press,1977), would, I think be an exception to that rule. Jim F. -- Ralph Dumain [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Expositions of Marxism have tended to limit treating Feuerbach as a thinker in his own right, but not all scholars, Marxist and non-Marxist, have imposed such limitations. .. ___ 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
[Marxism-Thaxis] Marx and other post-Hegelians
RD (in the thread this one stems from, Marx Religion) wrote: I don't know whether Marx or Kierkegaard even knew of one another's existence, so I don't know what is to be said on that score in terms of the development of either. They do get lumped together as influential post-Hegelians (though in the US university system Marx , at least in my experience, gets treated as only a minor philosopher, unfortunately). Kierkegaard is seen as one of the key, if not the most key, figure to understanding existentialism (though also a post-modern turn in theology, while 20th century existentialism was more likely associated with atheism and secular humanism). I don't think a direct exchange between thinkers is necessary for an effect on development, but in this case I don't think Marx would be affected by Kierkegaard on God and religion or even in a critique of Hegel. However, a synthesis of their thoughts could be possible, and I think you see this in Sartre (but one would have to take Sartre seriously, and many people don't). More on the main thread in a bit. CJ ___ 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
Re: [Marxism-Thaxis] Religion Marx
Religion Marx This might be on the bibliographies, I haven't checked. At any rate, this ten page article looks to take an interesting approach. I don't have a copy though. This is the cheapest (USD 25.00) online price I could find for this article. But as I said, it would be tempting to work out an understanding of Marx not only up against Feuerbach but with some other contemporaries. So we get this paper on F, M and Bloch. A far different but interesting approach for me would be a reconciliation of socialism and Islamist movements, such as Hezbollah and the Sadrist Resistance in Iraq. The US and much of Europe under the tutelage of the hegemon have taken the world down a path to hell in this regard. CJ --- http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a713994384~db=all Religion and communism: Feuerbach, Marx and Bloch Author: Vincent Geoghegan DOI: 10.1080/1084877042000306352 Publication Frequency: 7 issues per year Published in: journal The European Legacy, Volume 9, Issue 5 October 2004 , pages 585 - 595 Subjects: European History; European Studies; Philosophy; Formats available: PDF (English) Purchase Article: US$25.00 - buy now buy now add to cart buy now [ show other buying options ] Abstract Whilst Marx made scattered positive remarks about the details of communist society, he also made important negative indications. Religion features in this negativity: his critique of religion is withering, there is no mention of religious life in communism, and he is emphatic that religion will play no role in such a society. For Marx, one of the tangible freedoms of communism was freedom from religion. The critique of religion is fundamentally inscribed in the very genesis of Marx's thought, and Feuerbach is crucial to understanding Marx's strictures on religion. Yet Feuerbach also figures in Ernst Bloch's very positive approach to religion, which argues that communism involves the freedom to be religious, in the sense of opening up oneself and society to the gold-bearing seams of the religious experience. This essay explores how such different conceptions of the relationship between religion and communism both draw sustenance from Feuerbach. - MLA style citation: Geoghegan, Vincent. Religion and communism: Feuerbach, Marx and Bloch The European Legacy 9.5 (2004). 25 Sep. 2007 http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/1084877042000306352 ___ 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
