Logic of identity

[matthew piscioneri]

Bob,

looks like my clarification post didn't make it. I badly worded the 
following in the first post:


>    you think your quotes suggest marxism escaped  the critique of reason?

I tried to clarify this to read marxism DIDN'T escape H & A's critique. 
Apologies.
-------------
>which brings to mind a recent profession of yerz:  "Me also fairly
>intolerant of bloody religion."  I've observed there are a few very lucky
>people who have no metafisical need, perhaps you and adorno are two?

metafisical "needs" are fine. The opium head has a need for the opiate (of 
religion). What sort of socialism would I be pushing that didn't 
acknowledge/tolerate the existential needs of people? Let the masses have 
their icons and rituals if it salves their existential misery. Marx forbid, 
sport would have to be banned also :-).

metafisical needs and their satisfaction have to be kept apart from recourse 
to metafisical realities, that's all. Who sits on top of the enlightenment 
pile IMO? Darwin. Critical social theory starts after Darwin. metafisical 
needs indicate something about the human animal. A pragmatic critical social 
theory would be foolish to ignore such a need in any blueprint of desired 
social re-organisation. Making/using such a need as an impetus for social 
change may be a worthwhile strategy, although in the end I think it probably 
just makes for more false consciousness. And here's the BIG rub. False 
consciousness (collective ideals?) are essential for social integration. An 
always/already component of a social order. So it all depends which "false 
consciousness" you want: religion, class solidarity & revolutionary 
subjecthood, consumerism, nationalism, democracy/enlightenment. Of course in 
BLD's like the U.S and Australia there is a mish mash of most of these 
chimeras. Humans appear to be a myth-making, story telling type of an 
organism.

Stories about metaphysical entities/forces just don't do it for me, although 
I am partial to Capra's dancing pools of energy metaphor. What I like about 
the poetic side of radical physics is the dissolution of the 
perceptual/sensory certainty in which the human animal moves. Given 
different sensory equipment (U/V, sonar capacities) our world views (methods 
of oppression? ;-))would be vastly different, I would suggest.

Regards,

MattP

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