Marxian Totality

Inverting Hegel to Expound Worldly Matters

Series: 

Author:
Kaveh Boveiri
The present volume represents the first book-length monograph on the Marxian concept of totality as seen from a philosophical and sociopolitical perspective. Drawing on a large number of classical and contemporary works, Boveiri elucidates the distinctive features of Marxian totality with a particular focus on its methodology. The work has four fundamental elements, or moments. First, it develops arguments against undialectical conceptions of totality. Then it presents a critical reading of Hegelian totality focused on The Science of Logic. Its penultimate section examines the shortcomings of two well-known conceptions of totality, one by Georg Lukács, another by Karel Kosík, before a final section examines in detail the developmental characteristics of Marxian totality. The volume concludes with a chapter dealing with methodological implications.
Copyright Year:
2024
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978-90-04-70397-1
Publication:
19 Aug 2024
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978-90-04-70396-4
Publication:
15 Aug 2024
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Kaveh Boveiri, Ph.D. (2019), Université de Montréal, is a lecturer in sociology at the department of Sociology of the Université de Montréal and at the department of management of HEC-Montréal. He has edited three books and published and translated many articles in English, French, German and Farsi.
"In Marxian Totality: Inverting Hegel to Expound Worldly Matters, Kaveh Boveiri presents a groundbreaking monograph that analyses the Marxian concept of totality from both philosophical and sociopolitical perspectives. As the first book-length study dedicated exclusively to this subject, Boveiri’s work offers a thorough examination of the distinctive features of Marxian totality, with a particular focus on its methodological underpinnings. [...] By bridging the gap between abstract theory and concrete reality, Boveiri reaffirms the enduring relevance of Marx’s thought. He offers a compelling argument for the adoption of a Marxian dialectical totality as a means of comprehending and transforming the social world. Through his rigorous examination of both historical and contemporary perspectives, he provides valuable insights into the nature of totality, dialectics, and social change. This book shows the power of critical thought and its capacity to inform and inspire meaningful action in the pursuit of a more just and equitable society." — Simon Gros, in: Marxian Totality: Inverting Hegel to Expound Worldly Matters, November 2024
"Kaveh Boveiri’s Marxian Totality can be conceived as expanding and – to some extent – improving Karel Kosík’s account of the notion of totality in the Dialectic of the Concrete (1963). [...] [The book] presents an interesting contribution to the topic of Marxian totality and a worthwhile discussion of Kosík’s thought. A strong point of the book is also to engage the discussion not only with the English and German literature on the subject, but with the French as well, providing a well-rounded account of the topic." — Emmanuel Chaput, Professeur de philosophie, Cégep Édouard-Montpetit, in: Marx and Philosophy Review of Books, December 2024
Acknowledgements

Prologue

1 Two Misconceptions of Totality
 1 The Atomist-Rationalist Conception of Totality
 2 The Organicist and Organicist-Dynamic Conception of Totality
 3 Conclusion

2 On Hegel’s Totality
 1 Totality in the Doctrine of Being
 2 Totality in the Doctrine of Essence
 3 Totality in the Doctrine of Notion
 4 Conclusion

3 On Lukács’s Totality
 1 Conclusion

4 On Kosík’s Totality
 1 Totality: Concrete and Pseudo-concrete
 2 Totality and Objectivity
 3 Objekt-Gegenstand: Marx’s Distinction
 4 Objectivity in Kosík: Conceptual-Lexical Discussion and Its Implications
 5 Praxis, Labour, Care, and Totality
 6 History and Totality
 7 Factor Theory, System, Structure, and Totality
 8 Criticism of Kosík
 9 Conclusion

5 Marxian Totality Seen through His Works
 A Note on the Difficulty and the Strategy Adopted
 1 Prelude – The Poem and the Letter to His Father: Marx, a Diver in Search of the Sache selbst in Life in the Street
 2 Marx in the Laboratory: Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844
 3 Prototype-Genesis: Totality in the German Ideology and the ‘Theses on Feuerbach’
 4 Totality in Oscillation: The Grundrisse
 5 Totality in Categorial Movement: Capital
 6 Conclusion

6 The Relationship between the Grundrisse and Capital and between the Method of Enquiry and the Method of Exposition
 1 The Roots of the Thesis of a Rupture in Marx’s Works
 2 The Idea of a Rupture between the Grundrisse and Capital
 3 The Alternative Reading
 4 Conclusion

Epilogue

Appendix1: Rereading of a Passage from the French Edition of First Volume of Capital Edited by Marx
Appendix2: Some Passages of CapitalIII, in Original and in Translation, for Further Verification
Appendix3: Note on Translation
Bibliography
Index
This book will primarily attract its readership among professional philosophers, sociologists, and political theorists. Its larger audience may be found among graduate students as well as interested readers of human sciences.
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