German Idealism, Marxism, and Lukács’ Concept of Dialectical Ontology

I explore the roots of ontological thinking in the late thought of Georg Lukács via the development of the nature of praxis in German Idealism and the thought of Marx. I contend that the thesis of spontaneous, self-creation as well as social relatedness are both core themes in German Idealism that a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOpen Philosophy Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 18 - 36
Main Author Thompson, Michael J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published De Gruyter 25.06.2024
Subjects
critical theory
Georg Lukács
German Idealism
Marxism
social ontology
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Summary:I explore the roots of ontological thinking in the late thought of Georg Lukács via the development of the nature of praxis in German Idealism and the thought of Marx. I contend that the thesis of spontaneous, self-creation as well as social relatedness are both core themes in German Idealism that achieve definitive form in Marx’s thought. In effect, I argue that the human capacities for relatedness and the formation of relations with others paired with the teleological structure of human practical agency constitute a crucial ontological ground for critical theory. It is this that Lukács focuses on in his later ontological writings and which can be used to re-orient contemporary critical theory and critical philosophy which has been dominated by post-metaphysical and neo-Idealist currents in recent decades.
ISSN:2543-8875
2543-8875
DOI:10.1515/opphil-2024-0020