Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20435
Title: | Karl Marx on human nature |
Authors: | Cuschieri, Anthony |
Keywords: | Marx, Karl, 1818-1883 -- Criticism and interpretation Marx, Karl, 1818-1883 -- Views on man Philosophy, Marxist |
Issue Date: | 1980 |
Publisher: | Upper Secondary School Valletta |
Citation: | Cuschieri, A. (1980). Karl Marx on human nature. Hyphen, 2(3), 115-122 |
Abstract: | Marx had very little sympathy with Utilitarianism. One of the reasons for his disapproval was that this "doctrine of utility" thrives on a form of intellectual bankruptcy. Utilitarians, faithful to the empiricist tradition and its distaste for abstract reasoning, first profess, implicity or explicitly their skepticism towards any knowledge regarding the nature of man and then go on to dictate what is wholesome and useful to man. This, Marx suggests, is insane. In Capital, while criticising Jeremy Bentham, that "genius in the way of bourgeois stupidity", Marx makes a very intriguing remark: "To know what is useful for a dog", he writes, "one must study dog-nature. This nature itself is not to be deduced from the principle of utility." Marx's point is clear. It is irrational to dogmatise on what is useful to anything without first understanding correctly what you are talking about. Insight into, and a critical analysis of, the "nature" of something should anticipate any attempt to decide what is useful or harmful to it. This applies in a special manner in the case of human nature. |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/20435 |
Appears in Collections: | Hyphen, Volume 2, No. 3 (1980) Hyphen, Volume 2, No. 3 (1980) |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Karl Marx on Human Nature.pdf | 407.1 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Items in OAR@UM are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.