?‘Real Humanism’: Essence and Species-Being in Marx’s Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts.

Michael Lane ()

Title: ‘Real Humanism’: Essence and Species-Being in Marx’s Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts.

This paper offers an interpretation of Marx’s much contested ‘humanist’ Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844. The concept of species-being, adopted and developed from Feuerbach is crucial to Marx’s know well known discussion of alienation. I argue that the concept of species-being provides the ontological foundation for Marx’s social theory. Contra Althusser I argue that Marx retains and develops his understanding of species-being in his mature theory with his discussion of commodity fetishism. An examination of species-being allows for a richer discussion of Marx’s method and social theory than has been common in the literature that surrounds Marxist philosophy. Vital to this interpretation is the understanding that Marx outlines a humanist philosophy of social change with a historical account of human action and consciousness.