On page 102, Althusser observes that “…the
absolutely ideological ‘conceptual’ device… thus set up (a subject endowed with
a consciousness in which freely forms or freely recognizes ideas in which he believes),
the (material) attitude of the subject concerned naturally follows.” Contrary
to what Marx believes, Althusser recognizes that the material human existence
(our practices) begins with our beliefs, our ideas, our consciousness… What we
do is because of what we think. His
primary example is that a man who believes in God will go to church. But what
if Althusser is missing the point Marx is making? Instead, does a man believe
in God because he attends church?
In other words, what came first, the chicken
or the egg? Nobody knows. However, if we think from a historical perspective,
the Neanderthals, for example, were believed to have practiced burial rituals,
animal worship ceremonies and totemism (the belief that humankind is in some
way spiritually linked to nature); all of which demonstrate their ability to
think. These cultural practices had to originate from somewhere, so isn’t it
safe to say that they were derived from a ‘religious’ belief system? Isn’t
Althusser correct in that consciousness is the root of all human existence,
both physical and spiritual?
Helen ~
ReplyDeleteAccording to Althusser, "a theory of ideologies depends in the last resort on the history of social formations, and thus of the modes of production combined in social formations, and of the class struggles which develop in them. On the contrary, if [he is] able to put forward the project of a theory of ideology in general...ideology has no history" (Althusser 99).
In my opinion, to define an 'ideology' or 'ideologies' is an ideology in itself...
All of these ideas had to originate from somewhere, which entails a historical background of the ideas developing and being spread through educating future generations. In a way, every ideology is a story; consequently, every story has a history. I am confusing myself as I type this, but what I am trying to say is that I think both Marx and Althusser got their theories partially right. I believe that history literally shapes/molds an individual's life (nature), however, once consciousness reaches a certain point, one can radically create a new future...consciousness is ever-changing and history changes with it.
On the chicken vs. egg point, I always thought that the egg came first. You have some sort of non-chicken bird creature that lays non-chicken bird eggs. Eventually, as evolution works its magic, the non-chicken gets closer and closer to actually being a chicken. Then it lays a chicken egg. I'm not sure a chicken could hatch from a non-chicken egg, though I'm no chicken expert. On a more relevant note, I liked the going to church example. Its like Diet Soda. People see that people who drink Diet Soda tend to have diabetes. Clearly, Diet Soda causes diabetes, right? Well, maybe. It's also possible that people who have diabetes can't drink regular soda, so if they do drink soda it's going to be Diet. So I guess what I'm getting at is that going to church is exactly like drinking diet soda.
ReplyDeleteYour question, "Does man believe in God because he goes to church" is very interesting. We are taught traditions by our family, we are taught what to believe by our peers. Human existence boils down to experience. Without experience, we would not be able to individually decide for ourselves, although we are consistently being shaped by outside and mutual factors. Very good point.
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