What is Philosophy?

by Howard Selsam

The question of philosophy is not an academic or intellectual question. When Marx said in his celebrated Theses on Feuerbach, "The philosophers hitherto have interpreted the world in different ways, the question, however, is to change it," he intended to convey the real mission of philosophy. The real philosophy can only be the philosophy of praxis, i.e., the philosophy of subversive action. This subversive action can be realized only when philosophy is demystified and becomes a weapon in the hands of the masses. This book by one of the leading Marxist philosophers of his time, attempts to understand the real meaning and function of philosophy through a historical analysis of its development and attempts to develop a Marxist theory of philosophy. This is not a book on Marxist philosophy. Rather, this a Marxist book on philosophy. To borrow from Althusser, it is not a discourse in philosophy, but a discourse on philosophy.

Genres: Philosophy

132 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philosophy is a lot to take in. There are so many angles from which to attack it that the daunting task is largely ignored. What is philosophy? Philosophy is how you think, what you do, who you are. You cannot go through a single day without your personal brand of philosophy shining through. Howard Selsam explains just how philosophy exists in society and how any society cannot exist without it. I actually found it quite brilliant, if not a little too sure of itself. The main question of philosophy is the main question of life: What am I? In questioning/contemplating existence we get this strange and engaging line of philosophical thought, so surely certainty cannot live within? But Selsam speaks so certainly of everything he mentions that you believe it to be absolute fact--which is nonsense.

His idea of what philosophy is is no better than your idea, or the Nazi's, or the African's, or a rat's. This book taught me that philosophy is nonsense, but it is a necessary nonsense for civilization to actually be civil. Because of this elusive and vaporous concept people become more than what they are. They feel the need to be good, or generous, or kind. They see the benefits of looking out for one another, but they also see the logic in cruelty and superiority. Philosophy turns us into sentient, willful creatures who feel that they deserve or belong here. It really is a magical thing.

I enjoyed the book and find that its longevity extends past the decade in which it was written. Selsam was a great thinker and put his thoughts eloquently to paper. Even if his cock-sureness comes across too prominently, I'm wiling to forgive the faults of a man who strove for something more. 4.3/5

[Tannishka Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the book is excellent as an introduction for beginners, nonetheless, it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of presenting what Dialectical materialism is for which I refer to philosophers like Louis Althusser, Alain Badiou, etc.. Selsam fails to present a rigorous critique of idealist philosophers like Kant which becomes possible when one understands the materialist dialectic to be the non-deterministic motion of matter or what Lucretius following Epicurus called the clinamen or as Badiou writes in Being and Event, void is the proper name of being.

[Cesar Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is good since it offers interesting angles to criticize some of the different philosophies that were prominent in the past centuries and today, it is not an extended critic nor does it sumerge deeply into each philosophy but certainly has some interesting arguments to think about and offers a very interesting way of interpreting the philosophy from Hegel, Marx and Engels.

[Animesh Mitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Marxist book on philosophy and dialectic materialism. Unity and struggles of the oppositions, transformation of quantity into quality and vice versa, negation of the negation. Doctrine of flux. A book on change and revolution.

[Shubham · Rating 5 out of 5]

review to be written

[Preet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tremendous read. Concrete and comprehensive introduction to the history of philosophy through the Marxist lens