Marx and the Critique of Humanism

Marx''s writings refuse the notion of an unchanging or pre-given ''essence'' of what it means to be human. However, even if Marx''s concept of an ''open'' humanity is plausible, it generates further questions: how can the ''continuous transformation of human nature'' be compatible with the idea of a ''full'' development of the individual? Is transformation equivalent to development? By what criteria (immanent, universal or otherwise) can the adequacy of any particular form of human existence be determined? This book addresses these questions in relation to shifting contemporary scholarship on Marx''s view of the human. It engages with the critics of Marx''s thinking; his novel idea of transindividuality; the ways in which ''the human'' informs and is transformed by Marx''s critical theory of capitalist society; Marx on nature and the ecological dimensions of his thought; humanism and the critique of political economy; and humanism in relation to Marx''s materialism. In this way, Marx and the Critique of the Human illuminates Marx''s ideas in the context of a broader concern with ''the human'' across the contemporary philosophical landscape.

Product details

• Authors: Andres Saenz de Sicilia
• Assisted by: Andres Saenz de Sicilia (Editor)
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 08.01.2026
• EAN: 9781350526358
• ISBN: 978-1-350-52635-8
• No. of pages: 224
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Miscellaneous; PHILOSOPHY / Social, PHILOSOPHY / Political, PHILOSOPHY / Movements / Critical Theory, Critical Theory, Social & political philosophy, Political science & theory, social and political philosophy, Western philosophy from c 1800, Political science and theory, Western Philosophy, From C 1900 -