Gabriela Baltazar
Blog: Critical Theory
Marcuse Article
In “Philosophy and Critical Theory” Herbert Marcuse discusses Critical theory in the context of “man’s freedom, the real role of phantasy, and the why reason alone is not the answer.” Marcuse gives us the background of critical theory and how it is applied to these concepts.
First, when Marcuse discusses man’s freedom he makes the claim that, philosophy is the building block of theory and materialist theory. He states that to explain the totality of man and his world in terms of his social being. There fore, what a man defines his self worth determines what he can contribute to society. Marcuse also depicts critical theory as human freedom and that it offers a critique of contemporary and social conditions. Two elements Marcuse incorporates link materialism to social theory. First, he states that he is concerned with human happiness, and applies materialism to it. Second, conviction that it can be attained through transformation of the material conditions of existence. from these two elements we can make the connection that Marcuse collaborates human happiness being fulfilled with materialistic items rather than idealistic happiness. Man’s freedom however is also connected through the power of knowledge. Many times throughout the reading Marcuse associates freedom with knowledge. The individual can be the judge of everything with his own power of knowledge.
Second, Marcuse discusses the real role of phantasy. Marcuse defines phantasy as a philosophical connection through which imagination is required. Phantasy is to create something new out of a given material of cognition. Through Phantasy, imagination denotes freedom in a world that ideally is not free. I see Phantasy as an unclear reality. But without phantasy all philosophical knowledge remains, as Marcuse claims, in the grip of the present or the past and served from the future. There fore, phantasy is not something that is concrete, it is cognitively planned.
Lastly, reason alone is not the answer for several reasons. First, Marcuse states that reason is a philosophical thought. “It represents the highest potentiality of man and of existence” (358). Most of the time we see reason as accorded with a status of substance. In addition to this, Marcuse states, “something is authentic when it is self-reliant, can preserve itself and is not dependent on anything else” (359). More over, reason is supposed to create universality and community. Reason creates a space that brings things together as a whole and works around the communal issues. Freedom and reason in my opinion can work together. As we see freedom is applied in the sense of materialism, where individuals/ man finds pleasure or perhaps power as well. Reason indicates the status of this power and the reasoning of why man feels more authentic with a material object. The structure of reality can be defined by the social framework of economic conditions. Today, we can apply this to a fancy gadget such as the iPhone. People feel powerful obtaining this object because of the many things it can do. However, this can create a false status. Someone who is not typically wealthy can perceive themselves as wealthy because they own something with a lot of worth and status behind this object.
Blog: Critical Theory
Marcuse Article
In “Philosophy and Critical Theory” Herbert Marcuse discusses Critical theory in the context of “man’s freedom, the real role of phantasy, and the why reason alone is not the answer.” Marcuse gives us the background of critical theory and how it is applied to these concepts.
First, when Marcuse discusses man’s freedom he makes the claim that, philosophy is the building block of theory and materialist theory. He states that to explain the totality of man and his world in terms of his social being. There fore, what a man defines his self worth determines what he can contribute to society. Marcuse also depicts critical theory as human freedom and that it offers a critique of contemporary and social conditions. Two elements Marcuse incorporates link materialism to social theory. First, he states that he is concerned with human happiness, and applies materialism to it. Second, conviction that it can be attained through transformation of the material conditions of existence. from these two elements we can make the connection that Marcuse collaborates human happiness being fulfilled with materialistic items rather than idealistic happiness. Man’s freedom however is also connected through the power of knowledge. Many times throughout the reading Marcuse associates freedom with knowledge. The individual can be the judge of everything with his own power of knowledge.
Second, Marcuse discusses the real role of phantasy. Marcuse defines phantasy as a philosophical connection through which imagination is required. Phantasy is to create something new out of a given material of cognition. Through Phantasy, imagination denotes freedom in a world that ideally is not free. I see Phantasy as an unclear reality. But without phantasy all philosophical knowledge remains, as Marcuse claims, in the grip of the present or the past and served from the future. There fore, phantasy is not something that is concrete, it is cognitively planned.
Lastly, reason alone is not the answer for several reasons. First, Marcuse states that reason is a philosophical thought. “It represents the highest potentiality of man and of existence” (358). Most of the time we see reason as accorded with a status of substance. In addition to this, Marcuse states, “something is authentic when it is self-reliant, can preserve itself and is not dependent on anything else” (359). More over, reason is supposed to create universality and community. Reason creates a space that brings things together as a whole and works around the communal issues. Freedom and reason in my opinion can work together. As we see freedom is applied in the sense of materialism, where individuals/ man finds pleasure or perhaps power as well. Reason indicates the status of this power and the reasoning of why man feels more authentic with a material object. The structure of reality can be defined by the social framework of economic conditions. Today, we can apply this to a fancy gadget such as the iPhone. People feel powerful obtaining this object because of the many things it can do. However, this can create a false status. Someone who is not typically wealthy can perceive themselves as wealthy because they own something with a lot of worth and status behind this object.