Ideology and False Consciousness

Christopher L. Pines is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Rio Grande.

"This is a thorough and carefully reasoned argument for a clearly articulated thesis, namely that Marx's concept of ideology is epistemological, and that it is not at variance with Engel's characterization. This is the best-developed counterargument to McCarney's book on Marx on ideology. The examination of the historical sources of Marx's conception in the philosophes and in Feuerbach is persuasive and complete. It will serve as a locus classicus for the discussion on its topic." — Marx W. Wartofsky, The City University of New York"In my opinion, this book is a significant achievement, and should make a major contribution to Marx scholarship. Above all, it provides a very original method of analysis. In a highly creative manner, Pines combines a presentation of the historical predecessors of Marx's conception of ideology as 'false consciousness' with a complex, many-leveled analysis of Marx's theory." — James Lawler, State University of New York at Buffalo

• 1 Introduction to the Problematic 2 Bacon's Theory of Idols and Marx on Ideological Fallacies 3 Ideology and the French Enlightenment 4 Ideology and Political Class Struggle: Hegel's Philosophy of History and the Political False Consciousness in the Writings of Marx and Engels 5 The Hegelian and Feuerbachian Approach to the Alienated Mind 6 Alienation and False Consciousness in the Writings of the Young Marx 7 Alienation, the Fetishism of Commodities, and Ideology in Capital 8 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index