Re: The materialist road...Tony Smith?

["Chris M. Sciabarra" <sciabrrc@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 17 Jan 1996 HANLY@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Recently Chris Sciabara wrote:
>  Indeed, the thing itself becomes a "relation" as it were --
> that is, it cannot be defined in isolation to its conditions of
> existence, or its relationships with other entities.
> ==================================================
>     COMMENT: If the thing itself becomes a relation what is it that
> relations relate? How can there be relations without things being
> related?
>   Cheers, Ken Hanly
        Point well taken Ken... what I mean by this is that our
understanding of the thing is AS a relational unit.  Our concept of
something is the result of our ability to integrate two or more
perceptual concretes (units) which we isolate by a process of abstraction
according to specific characteristics, and united by a specific
definition.  Our ability to view things, entities, as existing in certain
relationships with other entities is an awareness of such things AS
relational units.  So, of course, relations are not disembodied
abstractions, they are relations among things.  But the relationships
between things often affects the identity of things, our definition of
things, how we conceptualize them, where we draw the boundaries,
so-to-speak, in our understanding of their complex, integrated, organic
nature.

        One might be able to grasp the concept of human beings as
"rational animals" -- but a deeper understanding of human beings
involves also, a grasp of the conditions within which human beings exist
(material conditions) and a grasp of the relationship of human beings to
one other, to the social world, to the material world, within historically
specific cultures and periods, etc.

        Hope this helps...
                                        - Chris
==================================================
Dr. Chris M. Sciabarra, Visiting Scholar, NYU Department of Politics
INTERNET:  sciabrrc@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://pages.nyu.edu/~sciabrrc
==================================================


     --- from list marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---

     ------------------