For what my two cents are worth, Karl Marx is one of the greatest and most influential philosophers in history. In addition to the litany of ideas and thoughts he contributed to the eternally evolving world of philosophy, Marx is also a premiere example of how philosophers build of one another’s work. Marx drew from many of his predecessors, but there were two in particular that influenced Marx tremendously. Both Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Charles Darwin, made astronomical impacts on Karl Marx’s belief system and philosophy, and undoubtedly prove that prior philosophers have and always will influence future generations.
In order to show the succession from one philosopher 's thought tract to Marx’s, it is essential to understand what Marx believed. Raised by Jews who eventually converted to Lutheranism, Marx was able to experience various religions as young man. The shifty nature he associated religion to ultimately lead to him becoming an atheist later in life, and making very serious remarks against religions across the world. Marx saw religion as a reflection of a flawed society, arguing that, “ "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." To Marx, religion represented a device that allowed people to ignore the indecencies and dissention within their own society, and focus on a more romanticized world and history. Ina similar fashion, Marx summarized that politics were a manifestation of economics and the material world-a never ending struggle between the “bourgeoisie” and the “proletariat.” Dedicated to the idea of historical materialism, Marx insisted that history is based off of dialectical materialism, or the belief that thought is limited by the experiences one encounters. To him, history was a succession of economic systems of production, with the next system originating in the revolution of the working class. He affirmed that, “it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness.” To Marx, one’s rank and status in society is the determinant that will decide how aware they are of themselves and the society in which they live. While Marx’s thought is mind boggling and ingenious, traces of other philosophers’ work can most certainly be found. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel had the most profound impact on Karl Marx, as many originally viewed marx within the school of Hegelian thought. Two of Hegel’s principal beliefs were that reality and history should be viewed dialectically, and that progress involved gradual evolutionary accretion, but at times needed discontinuous, revolutionary upheavals against the status quo. While it may not be an exact mirror image, Marx’s core philosophy was based off the contradiction of opposing economic systems throughout …show more content…
In contrast to Hegel’s imprint that is shown more in Marx’s work, Darwin’s work is often spoken of and told by Marx. A large portion of Marx and Friedrich Engels 's Communist Manifesto found it’s roots in Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Even though Darwin’s book was published after the Communist Manifesto, the work and experiments, and thought put into the book still had a large impact of Marx. Marx writes how, “In his splendid work, Darwin did not realize that by discovering the 'geometrical progression ' in the animal and plant kingdom , he overthrew Malthus theory.” Both Darwin and Marx were detractors of Malthus’ theory that society would eventually be decimated by disease and famine, which simultaneously contradicted the theories of evolution and self-perfection. Marx stated that, “Darwin’s work is most important and suits my purpose in that it provides a basis in natural science for the historical class struggle.” Marx took Darwin’s theories of natural selection and survival of the fittest and combined with Pierre Trémaux to apply the principles to history and politics. Marx explained that history and the evolution of politics is shown through the natural selection of economic systems. Marx, like Darwin, took Hegel’s views of dialectical idealism, and applied it to a more materialistic and realistic world. The example the embodies Darwin’s impact the most would be the way that Marx signed his letter that he addressed to Darwin on June 16th, 1873. He concludes the letter with “On the part of his sincere admirer-- Karl Marx.” Marx esteemed Darwin, and undoubtedly drew from darwin’s large body of
In order to show the succession from one philosopher 's thought tract to Marx’s, it is essential to understand what Marx believed. Raised by Jews who eventually converted to Lutheranism, Marx was able to experience various religions as young man. The shifty nature he associated religion to ultimately lead to him becoming an atheist later in life, and making very serious remarks against religions across the world. Marx saw religion as a reflection of a flawed society, arguing that, “ "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." To Marx, religion represented a device that allowed people to ignore the indecencies and dissention within their own society, and focus on a more romanticized world and history. Ina similar fashion, Marx summarized that politics were a manifestation of economics and the material world-a never ending struggle between the “bourgeoisie” and the “proletariat.” Dedicated to the idea of historical materialism, Marx insisted that history is based off of dialectical materialism, or the belief that thought is limited by the experiences one encounters. To him, history was a succession of economic systems of production, with the next system originating in the revolution of the working class. He affirmed that, “it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness.” To Marx, one’s rank and status in society is the determinant that will decide how aware they are of themselves and the society in which they live. While Marx’s thought is mind boggling and ingenious, traces of other philosophers’ work can most certainly be found. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel had the most profound impact on Karl Marx, as many originally viewed marx within the school of Hegelian thought. Two of Hegel’s principal beliefs were that reality and history should be viewed dialectically, and that progress involved gradual evolutionary accretion, but at times needed discontinuous, revolutionary upheavals against the status quo. While it may not be an exact mirror image, Marx’s core philosophy was based off the contradiction of opposing economic systems throughout …show more content…
In contrast to Hegel’s imprint that is shown more in Marx’s work, Darwin’s work is often spoken of and told by Marx. A large portion of Marx and Friedrich Engels 's Communist Manifesto found it’s roots in Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Even though Darwin’s book was published after the Communist Manifesto, the work and experiments, and thought put into the book still had a large impact of Marx. Marx writes how, “In his splendid work, Darwin did not realize that by discovering the 'geometrical progression ' in the animal and plant kingdom , he overthrew Malthus theory.” Both Darwin and Marx were detractors of Malthus’ theory that society would eventually be decimated by disease and famine, which simultaneously contradicted the theories of evolution and self-perfection. Marx stated that, “Darwin’s work is most important and suits my purpose in that it provides a basis in natural science for the historical class struggle.” Marx took Darwin’s theories of natural selection and survival of the fittest and combined with Pierre Trémaux to apply the principles to history and politics. Marx explained that history and the evolution of politics is shown through the natural selection of economic systems. Marx, like Darwin, took Hegel’s views of dialectical idealism, and applied it to a more materialistic and realistic world. The example the embodies Darwin’s impact the most would be the way that Marx signed his letter that he addressed to Darwin on June 16th, 1873. He concludes the letter with “On the part of his sincere admirer-- Karl Marx.” Marx esteemed Darwin, and undoubtedly drew from darwin’s large body of