An Exploration Of Marx And Engels’s Critical Theory Of Ideology

The development of Marx and Engels’ s critical theory of ideology can be divided into three progressive stages.Firstly,in the early stages,before the concept of ideology was formally used,Marx and Engels’ s critique of ideology took the form of a philosophical critique,i.e.from the ideological critique of the rationalist position to the ideological critique of the period of the “material interest dilemma” to the ideological critique with a humanist dimension.Secondly,the above-mentioned transformation is at the same time a gradual demystification of the mysterious form of Hegelian dialectic by Marx and Engels and the establishment of a scientific method of ideological critique;and after the appearance of a rational form of dialectic,Marx and Engels’ s cause to dispel the illusion of ideological independence is also strongly supported.Finally,the theoretical form of ideological critique is deepened in the examination of the history of the development of the relative independence of ideology in Marx’s critique of fetishism in Capital and in Engels’ s later letters.This dissertation attempts to analyse three core expressions of ideology through an examination of the development of Marx and Engels’ s critical theory of ideology.As the first expression,“illusory consciousness” refers to the “inverted” position of replacing the relation of reality with the connection of ideas,thus the critique of“illusory consciousness” can therefore initially rely on the “off-cover” of thought and the restitution of the real content of history;secondly,“dominant consciousness”mainly reveals the class antagonism of the material interests represented by the forms of consciousness.It is the expression of the will of the dominant class in the field of material production in the field of mental production,and therefore the critique of“dominant consciousness” has to resort to the revolutionary practice of eliminating the existing domination(and the interests of class antagonism).Thirdly,ideology,as the “superstructure of thought”,is limited in its independence by the decisive role of the economic base and reacts dynamically to it.In order to further understand the true implications of Marx and Engels’ s critical theory of ideology,this dissertation also tries to explore two key perspectives of ideological studies,ideology and the critique of its falsity,and ideology and its scientificity.The falsity of ideology lies in the narrowness of the class interests it represents and the inversion of the way of thinking;the relatively independent evolution of the ideological field is in fact the unfolding of the “history of science”,the history of the self “sublation” of human practical consciousness.The dissertation concludes with an extended discussion around the question of the contemporary significance of Marx and Engels’ s critical theory of ideology.Through this discussion,we attempt to stand in the shoes of Marx and Engels and offer some response to contemporary work in ideology studies.Specifically,Marx and Engels’ s critical theory of ideology provides a dialectical approach(combining epistemological,functional and sociological perspectives)to contemporary ideological research;the change in philosophical outlook and the change in the view of history that Marx and Engels achieved in the formation of their critical theory of ideology provide useful insights for us to transcend the paradoxical dilemma of ideology.