
On Ideology
Louis Althusser(Author)
Verso Books (Publisher)
Published on 17. January 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
179 pages
978-1-84467-202-8 (ISBN)
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Description
The publication of For Marx and Reading Capital established Louis Althusser as one of the most controversial figures in the Western Marxist tradition, and one of the most influential renewals of Marxist thought. Collected here are Althusser's most significant philosophical writings from the late sixties and through the seventies. Intended to contribute, in his own words, to a 'left-wing critique of Stalinism that would help put some substance back into the revolutionary project here in the West', they are the record of a shared history. At the same time they chart Althusser's critique of the theoretical system unveiled in his own major works, and his developing practice of philosophy as a 'revolutionary weapon'.
The collection opens with two lucid early articles-Theory, Theoretical Practice and Theoretical Formation' and 'On Theoretical Work'. The title piece-Althusser's celebrated lectures in the 'Philosophy Course for Scientists'-is the fullest exploration of his new definition of philosophy as politics in the realm of theory, a conception which is further developed in ' Lenin and Philosophy'. 'Is it Simple to be a Marxist in Philosophy?' provides an invaluable account of Althusser's intellectual development. The volume concludes with two little-known late pieces-'The Transformation of Philosophy', in which the paradoxical history of Marxist philosopher is investigated; and 'Marxism today', a sober balance-sheet of the Marxist tradition. Attesting to the unique place that Althusser has occupied in modern intellectual history-between a tradition of Marxism that he sought to reconstruct, and a 'post-Marxism' that has eclipsed its predecessor-these texts are indispensable reading.
The collection opens with two lucid early articles-Theory, Theoretical Practice and Theoretical Formation' and 'On Theoretical Work'. The title piece-Althusser's celebrated lectures in the 'Philosophy Course for Scientists'-is the fullest exploration of his new definition of philosophy as politics in the realm of theory, a conception which is further developed in ' Lenin and Philosophy'. 'Is it Simple to be a Marxist in Philosophy?' provides an invaluable account of Althusser's intellectual development. The volume concludes with two little-known late pieces-'The Transformation of Philosophy', in which the paradoxical history of Marxist philosopher is investigated; and 'Marxism today', a sober balance-sheet of the Marxist tradition. Attesting to the unique place that Althusser has occupied in modern intellectual history-between a tradition of Marxism that he sought to reconstruct, and a 'post-Marxism' that has eclipsed its predecessor-these texts are indispensable reading.
Reviews / Votes
One reads him with excitement. There is no mystery about his capacity to inspire the intelligent young. -- Eric Hobsbawm Althusser traversed so many lives-so many personal, historical, philosophical and political adventures; marked, inflected, influenced so many discourses, actions and existences by the radiant and provocative force of his thought-that the most diverse and contradictory accounts could never exhaust their source. -- Jacques DerridaMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
212 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84467-202-8 (9781844672028)
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Persons
Louis Althusser was born in Algeria in 1918 and died in France in 1990. He taught Philosophy for many years at the Ecole Normale Superieur in Paris, and was a leading intellectual in the French Communist Party.