Lecture 3 Flashcards
Religion expresses:
Lack of awareness of our own power,
People suffer, religion is an expression of suffering
Our beliefs justify domination
An expression of injustice and oppression
People use religion to escape reality
Produces an illusion of happiness
A response to our material reality
Morality
Is relative to one's society which reflects power relations and class divisions. It's a sociological construct which are the norms and beliefs to right and wrong. Argues that the working class has better morality
Species-being
Our human potential as a species for creativity, agency, and planning.
Characteristics of species-being
- Humans have distinct features which separate them from animals
- Have natural needs
- Have natural powers
- Ability/need to transform basic animal requirements to meaningful ones (sex and meals)
- Possess self-consciousness (can plan ahead and anticipate, hope, imagine
- Freedom can be directed to improve lives
Activity
Action guided by a purpose (our human drive)
Work
A process to material production
Creativity
The ability to produce unique products
Objectification
Basic human activity, engage in making of objects
What are the four criteria for objectification
- When we objectify we must be conscious of what we are doing
- In our activities, we should be able to express our capacities
- Need to be able to express our social nature in the work we do
- Must not be doing it to achieve another end
Labour
Is the process through which we act, create and objectify the world
Alienation
Estrangement from our species-being
4 components to modern alienation
- Workers are alienated from their productive activity
- Workers are alienated from the product of their productive activity
- Alienation from other workers
- Alienation from ones species-being
