| This question <45|45> overall <37|40> Budlettharris: <503|167-6>. |
| Question 79: Why did God create something as imperfect as nature and humans? (And what does this have to do with the topic at hand?) Compare Chapter 1 in Cohen's Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence. |
| [39] Budlettharris: God's Creation According to the reading Marx's view on why nature and humans were created is also a rebuff to Hegel's concept of the same topic. While I might not agree with either view it is interesting to see how they derive what we might term “their religious belief” out of what can be seen as a non-religious system for most people. |
| I would like to first state that according to Hegel, nature and humans were created so that a forum would be given in which their properties might express themselves. This is the one and only reason that these two things exist, their properties. Marx would disagree. |
| According to Marx existence is given. With this in mind it would appear that Marx subscribes to an almost Darwinian belief system in which creation is not something brought about by one being but an event that happens over millions of years. Existence is not an abstract idea but “immediate”. My interpretation of Marx's idea is that existence comes about as a pure science that is guided by all the rules of chemistry and physics. It is not that someone is watching but that something, the laws of science, is watching. For Marx the only thing that is mediated is determinate being. |
| With this in mind, we come to the reason of existence for nature and humans. The idea is simple. “. . .while it often takes work to bring to the surface the properties hidden in those things which make up the world.” The purpose for the existence of nature and humans is to fulfill and bring out the hidden properties within. No doubt those properties revolve around Marx economic ideas such as use value and exchange value. |
| While these pseudo-religious economic ideas are fairly clear, the second part of the question addresses its relevancy. I believe that this idea is hidden in the paragraph that begins “The dictionary definition of ‘mediate’ . . .”. This paragraph talks about the fact that the properties of nature and humans require mediation, or intervention by something. If one were to believe that God created nature and humans then he would also mediate so as to bring out those hidden properties. This of course is not what Marx includes in his economic system. It is his belief that “Work is necessary to bring out these useful properties: . . .” Work not God is what shows these hidden properties. The question of God creating things is relevant because Marx does not believe it and anyone who does might have some fundamental issues with his economic system. |
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