POLI1041 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: The Human Instinct, Cathexis, Orthodox Judaism
Document Summary
Marx came up with the theory of dialectical materialism, which states that people are objects whose consciousness is influenced by the material world around them. He used hegel"s dialec- tic which suggested our intellectual though process is reflected upon the material world as a ba- sis, but turns that theory upside down. Marx believed that human beings do not create their real- ity nor their morality rather the external reality of our lives is what creates our consciousness. From the idea that our actions and consciousness are controlled by external subliminal forces. Marx suggests that human beings do not have free will. He suggests our moral choices are made for us and that material conditions take away personal responsibility. This belief is impor- tant to understanding the importance of the external world in explaining a greater political state. Marx believed that history had a linear development that inevitably would end in communism.