xmca@weber.ucsd.edu writes:
>
hi, Paul - your wrote -
>
>Several of these especially attract my attention and lead me to a greater
>understanding of Ilyenkov, who, in contrast to what Phil seems to imply,
>didn't simply situate his analysis in the marxist tradition because of
>political pressure, but rather struggled under political pressure to
>restore an interpretation and approach to marxism that had been
>suppressed during the Stalinist period and the Cold War. There can be no
>doubt that Ilyenkov was struggling against marxist dogma for a return to
>the original problematic that Marx inititated and that gave birth to,
>among other areas of knowledge, Vygotskyan psychology and activity theory.
silly me! i wasn't very clear.
it was very clear to me that Ilyenkov struggled enormously - but the
struggle seemed so much like a struggle for religious dominance - rather
like the pope's last statements about catholocism being the only way to
true salvation. and as Alfred pointed out, how necessary is the argument
that people need salvation, otherwise, why would they attend to the dogma
- you've got to conveince them that they have fallen.
so, Ilyenkov has to first establish his legitimacy - his patrimony -
through his lit review as he builds up to his arguement about the ideal.
but core ideas are still that marxism claims an historical/scientific
knowledge that explains human history - conflict, oppression, poverty -
and forecasts a better life ahead - liberty, equality & prosperity -
as a reward for following the truths of marxism - a set of rewards just
as positive as any offered by religion.
this better life will be concrete - it identifies a common enemy
(capitalism), in which triumph of this alone will bring about the
liberation of mankind (and i deliberately cite "mankind", because marxism
is deeply embedded in paternalism.
men are divided into children of light and children of darkness condemned
by history itself.
one particular class of society (the workers) is to dominate the other
classes, and all other ethical considerations are ignored.
and the interests of that specific class is identified as the interests
of all mankind.
so, perhaps it was my ill expressed distrust of marxism as an explanatory
principle - bounded by 19th century positivism and progressism,
paternalism and heterosexism - that i saw (with the help of Molly who
initially pointed out the religiousness of terminology) that sent me
looping off on that particular riff.
however, i'm still crazy about activity theory - as a third grade
teacher it has informed my practice enormously.
phillip
/ \ / \ / \
/ \ / \
Buddha speaking to Vasettha:
One is not a brahmin by birth,
Nor by birth a non-brahmin.
By action is one a brahmin,
by action is one a non-brahmin.
So that is how the truly wise
See action as it really is,
Seers of dependent origination,
Skilled in actions and its results.
Action makes the world
go round,
Action makes this
generation turn.
Living beings are bound
by action
Like the chariot wheel
by the pin.
phillip white
third grade teacher
doctoral student
scrambling a dissertation
denver, colorado
phillip_white@ceo.cudenver.edu
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