12/17/12

Consciousness and social existence

Marx writes about the relationship of physical work and consciousness:

  But what distinguishes the worst architect from the best of bees is this, that the architect raises his structure in imagination before he erects it in reality.

Was aber von vonrherein den schlechtesten Baumeister vor der besten Biene auzeichnet, ist, dass er die Zelle in seinem Kopf gebaut hat bevor er sie in Wachs baut. (193).

Pero lo que ya por anticipado dinstingue al peor arquitecto de la abjera mejor es que el arquitecto construye la celdilla en su cabeza antes de construirla con cera. (194)

Is it here the consciousness that determines the social existence? This seems to contradict what Marx writes in his earlier writings that the social existence determines the consciousness.
However, dialectics is fare more complicate than the verb "to determine" can make us believe. For Marx idea and world are inseparable. Social, material crisis can produce a pressure towards ideas and consciousness which again can change the world. By thinking or acting we change the world and ourselves which again changes what we think or do.

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