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The recognized wisdom over the past few years has been that there have been fundamental breaks, divisions, and stages within the overall writings of Karl Marx. They have been characterized as epistemological breaks by Althusser or as the divisions between the young and old Marx, the split between the critique of ideology and historical materialism (Wellmer), or between the critical philosophy of praxis and scientific materialism (Gouldner). However, this chapter was designed to trace the development of the critical method from German idealism to historical materialism in order to show and stress the continuities within the German intellectual tradition and the epistemological and methodological continuities in Marx" own works. This is not to deny the discontinuities and radical breaks between Kant, Hegel, and Marx and the transformations that Marx" own works had undergone, but there is a transcending interest in the critical perspective, which is more powerful than any of their individual differences. By centering on the "critique" many extraneous aspects of Marx" thought will be pushed aside in order to give central focus to this powerful methodological concept. The result will be a deeper awareness of the connections between idealism and materialism, the overall continuity in Marx" writings, and the necessity to rethink Marx" concept of "theory and practice".

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-009-2945-6_2

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