Karl Marx on morality as ideology

Philosophy

Summary of Morality as Ideology and Star Trek and the Post Modern Society

Morality as Ideology

Karl Marx was a nineteenth century philosopher. After studying at the University of Berlin he gained a doctorate from the University of Jena. Marx has been one of the most successful social and political reformers of the nineteenth century. Marx met another philosopher: Karl Engels, in Paris, following exile from his native Germany, who he was to work with extensively.

Marx proposed a philosophy which presented his ideas regarding the way society did work and the way it should work. One of the core ideas of Marx was the doctrine of historical materialism. This theory states that the way people think and behave and the way society develops is directly influenced by the economy; in other words they are influenced by the way goods are produced. Personal and social values, or morals, are created and influenced by the community or society in which the people live.

In any society these of have the most money (the bourgeoisie) have the most control or influence; they decide on the values which become part of society. For example, which art works are fashionable, which religions are supported and that laws which are made. These influences directly, and indirectly, shape the values and morals of all people, including the workers (the proletariat). If the morals are shaped by external influences, they are likely to support the interest of the most powerful people in that society, as it is those people who have created the values. Ethical philosophers have theorized that values are created by the mind, believing that there are, or should be, universal principles of conduct. If Marx is right, different societies with different ruling classes will have different values, they are linked to the society; they will vary over time and in different cultures. In the different societies there will be changes, as alienation will create revisionary forces, and new ruling classes may take control, as seen wit the French Revolution. To summarize this, the main propose of the text is to demonstrate that morals are created and shaped by society, rather than society creating morals.

Star Trek and the Post Modern Society

The term post modern first emerged in the 1930s, referring to the way society was developing, moving from the modern stage, to the next stage that was to follow modern development. This is a natural development, and is part of a general process of change. This process can be seen in historical context, just as the modern world built in and changes the ideas of the period known as the enlightenment, which in turn built in the period known as the renaissance.

In the past there has been the creation of ideas on the way that people should view and interpret the world. The post modernist approach is different, arguing that reality will be subjective. In other words, there is no single correct model reality; it will vary between different people and reality will always be subjective. There are many post modern philosophers that put forward the idea that the universe is not seen in the same way by everyone, these philosophers include Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and Richard Rorty.

In the past, especially following the enlightenment, it was assumed that knowledge was always good and would lead to progress. The post modernist philosophers see this as to optimistic, and view the world with a greater level of pessimism. Past approaches have put foreword the idea that things are always getting better, post modernists do not believe that man will be able to solve all of the world's problems. It is also argued that a lot of knowledge is subjective.