Karel Kosík (1926-2003) was one of the most remarkable Czech Marxist philosophers of the twentieth century. His reputation as a creative thinker is owed largely to his philosophical 'blockbuster' Dialectics of the Concrete, first published in Czechoslovakia in 1963. In reintroducing Kosík's philosophy to English-speaking readers, we show that Kosík's work is important not only as a leading intellectual document of the Prague Spring, but also as an original theoretical contribution with international impact that sheds light on the meaning of (...) labour and praxis, democracy and economic structure, dialectics and the crises of modernity. (shrink)

The study offers an account of Hegel’s religious epistemology based on his Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion. It is understood as a result of Hegel’s efforts to determine the sufficient conditions, which make the knowledge of God possible. Firstly, Hegel’s philosophy of religion is sketched as an investigation of the religious consciousness as well its subject, i.e. God. Secondly, the concept of Absolute Spirit is construed as a self-manifestation to specify Hegel’s understanding of God. Finally, the paper shows Hegel’s (...) way to epistemological realism, which is a middle position between theological anti-realism and theological agnosticism. (shrink)

This essay revisits Karl Marx’s understanding of consumption, in an effort to rescue it from the overshadowing legacy of critical theory which has construed Marx as inveighing against false needs. It is argued that Marx regarded the expansion of needs entailed by capitalism in a generally favourable way, but saw capitalism as a system yoking use-value to the imperatives of profit accumulation, hence limiting and subjugating the consumption of the masses. While Marx’s position was radically different from conventional anti-consumerism it (...) is equally incompatible with complacent affirmations of ‘the consumer society’ in that Marx at all times aimed at a revolutionary change which will transform consumption both quantitatively and qualitatively. Marx’s views are first discussed as expressed in the perennially-cited text, the 1844Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts. The second part moves on to examine the further evolution of Marx’s ideas as found in later texts, particularly theGrundrisse. (shrink)

This book explores the emergence and significance of 'a Nietzschean heroic model' in 20th-century popular culture, some notable examples of which are James Bond, Tarzan, and Hannibal Lecter.

This book explores the emergence and significance of 'a Nietzschean heroic model' in 20th-century popular culture, some notable examples of which are James Bond, Tarzan, and Hannibal Lecter.