Abstract
It is a widely accepted view in Marxist philosophy that the creators of Marxism held methodological views different from those expressed in various trends of contemporary philosophy of the sciences. The aim of this article is the systematization of these concepts and their presentation in the conceptual apparatus that will make possible their testability. Anticipating the general conclusion of the article we may say that, indeed, a certain model of the empirical sciences is assumed in the works of K. Marx and F. Engels, which diners from the models presented by contemporary trends in the philosophy of science, and in particular from the positivistic model. This is especially worth noting since the epistemological concepts of Marx and Engels, although they were not presented by them systematically anywhere, were formed more or less at the same time as the positivistic trend dominated in the philosophy of science.
First published in Studia Filozoficzne 2 (75) (1972). Translated by E. Ronowicz.
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References
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This interpretaton goes in the same direction as the interpretation done by W. Krajewski, although it differs from it in the details because of a different conceptual apparatus used there. Cf. W. Krajewski, ‘Engels o prawach przyrody’ (‘Engels on the Laws of Nature’), in: W. Krajewski, Pojęcie prawa nauki w XIX wieku (The Concept of a Scientific Law in the 19th Century), Warszawa 1967, pp. 155-157.
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That basic concepts of Marxist economy have a ‘mixed’ character, i.e. that besides subjective concepts, concerning the aim of activity, there occur objective concepts, concerning the unintended consequences of activity, is indicated by J. Kmita,’ Marx’s Way of Explaining of Social Processes’, Poznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the HumanitiesI(1) (1975), p. 86ff.
The superiority of this model in questions connected with idealization has been dealt with in the works: L. Nowak, ‘Laws of Science, Theories and Measurement’, Philosophy of Science 39 (1972); L. Nowak, ‘On an Interpretation of Marxist Methodology’, Poznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities I (1) (1975), p. 86ff.
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Nowak, L. (1977). The Model of Empirical Sciences in the Concepts of the Creators of Marxism. In: Przełęcki, M., Wójcicki, R. (eds) Twenty-Five Years of Logical Methodology in Poland. Synthese Library, vol 87. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-1126-6_23
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