Abstract

In the history of western philosophy, few thinkers have managed to generate as much controversy and confusion as Karl Marx. One issue caught in this controversy and mired in confusion the presence of evaluative language in Marx's `later' works. Critics have seized on its presence, contending that it contradicts his theory of history, rendering his critique of political economy nothing more than proletarian ideology. These criticisms are based on an inconsistency that is only apparent. As this dissertation will demonstrate, Marx is able to consistently and objectively combine evaluation and description in his `later' works because embedded within his dialectical method is an ethic of self-actualization I call Dialectical Humanism. Since so much of the confusion surrounding this issue stems from a failure to adequately contextualize it, Chapter I places Marx's life and thought in proper perspective. With the overview of the development of Marx's life and thought complete, Chapter II examines his theory of history to understand how it explains socio-historical phenomena. Chapter III elucidates Marx's humanism, tracing its development from an explicit to an implicit aspect of his thought. In order to understand what Marx truly sought through the transcendence of alienation, Chapter IV carefully examines his solution to the problem of alienation. Chapter V then establishes the `internal' relation between alienation and exploitation. Having thus brought out the connection between Marx's theories, concepts, and methods, Chapter VI identifies his ethic.