The Holy Family (book)

The Holy Family, or Critique of Critical Criticism. Against Bruno Bauer & Consorten is the title of a book by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, published in spring 1845.

It is the first font that Marx and Engels co-authored. They decided on their first personal meeting in August 1844.

Preparing to Print

In an undated letter from autumn of 1844 to Heinrich Bornstein Marx asked if A. Frank could publish the book in Brussels. Another request addressed to Marx, Julius Campe in Hamburg. Finally, Marx entered into correspondence with the set up only on July 1, 1844 Literary Institute ( J. Rütten ). On 3 December 1844, the two Rütten Publisher Joseph and Zacharias Loewenthal wrote to Marx that the book set is almost finished and sent a change of more than 1,000 francs. On December 9, 1844 reported the Metternich confidant Hermann Ebner, that Marx would have a treatise against Bruno Bauer print at Rütten. On December 27, 1844 Loewenthal Marx suggested the final title of Scripture: The Holy Family, or Critique of Critical Criticism. Against Bruno Bauer and his associates. On January 15, 1845 Loewenthal added a the last requested by Marx corrections. Beginning in February 1845, the book was then delivered.

Intention of writing

Intention of the authors was, from the development of theory of Bruno Bauer - to distance and to acknowledge its " real humanism " Ludwig Feuerbach - former mentor of Marx.

Main content is the contradiction between Hegel's idealism and Marx 's materialist conception of dialectics, and especially a critique of the Young Hegelians, Bruno Bauer and his brother Edgar Bauer, and a number of lesser-known authors from the circle of Berlin "free ". It is striking that Marx here Max Stirner, who belonged to the inner radius builder, not one of the " consorts " and its derogation from this criticism.

The tenor of the text, which comes to about 90 % of Marx, consistently polemical to taunting, which is not only the subtitle indicates: Against Bruno Bauer & Consorten. Even the main title mocked Bruno Bauer's philosophy with the invented term " critical review ". Because Bauer called his critical theory, which he developed especially in articles of the vintage 1844 general literary journal, of course not, " Critical Review ", but " pure criticism".

The Young Hegelians were based on Hegel believes that the story was only an expression of the development of human reason and therefore rejected any political commitment. Marx and Engels criticized this view in the Holy Family as unrealistic:

"What's in Hegel the result of the real evolution nothing more than the proven, that is brought to consciousness truth. [ ... ] The absolute criticism speaks of truths that are quoted at the outset of itself '. [ ... ] A truth that goes without saying, has lost for the absolute criticism, as for the divine dialectic, its salt, its meaning, its value. It has become bland as abgestandnes water. Therefore, the absolute criticism proves on the one hand everything that goes without saying, and also many things that are lucky enough to be foolish, will therefore never be self-evident. On the other hand sees itself her all that by yourself what a development need. Why? Because it understands with real tasks by themselves, that they do not understand it from itself. "

According to Friedrich Engels 's own words he himself had " almost nothing " to the work contributed to why he considers it " kurious " that he is named for Karl Marx as the author. Otherwise, it evaluates the work as " splendid ", " magnificently written and ill laugh " "too big", but in its entirety and overall " the larger public incomprehensible".

Importance of writing

The Holy Family is a signature of the transition to the theoretical development of Marx. While he acknowledges here to Feuerbach, is the transcript of his Theses on Feuerbach, shortly after the book was published in February 1845 that he began to break away from Feuerbach. This process started under the influence of Feuerbach 's critique of Max Stirner in book The Ego and His Own ( October 1844 ) and was completed after Marx had read Feuerbach's reply to Stirner and its rejoinder in September 1845. Then Marx began his critique of Stirner " Saint Max ", but remained unpublished until 1932 and as part of the text appeared miscellany The German ideology in the MEGA.

Expenditure

  • Original edition, Literary Institute ( J. Rütten ). Frankfurt am Main, 1845. ( Digitized )
  • Marx and Engels issue. Division 1, All the works and writings, with the exception of Capital, Vol 3:. The Holy Family and writings of Marx from early 1844 to early 1845, Marx- Engels -Verlag, Berlin 1932 ( Reprint Auvermann, glassworks in the Taunus 1970)
  • Faksimilisierter Reprint, Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1953.
  • Marx-Engels Collected Works, Vol 2, Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1957, pp. 3-223. (DEA archive)
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