One of Karl Marx's more famous observations was that "all the different theoretical products and forms of consciousness, religion, philosophy, morality, etc." arises from "the material production of life itself" as it determines social formations. In this first volume of a work further developing this idea, Marxist philosopher Mšz̀ros (emeritus, U. of Sussex) attends to the question of method. He argues that the methodological characteristics produced by capitalism include programmatic orientation towards science, a general tendency to formalism, negative determination of philosophy and social theory, the suppression of historical temporality, the imposition of a dualistic and dichotomous categorical matrix on philosophy and social theory, and abstract postulates of "unity" and "universality" as the wishful transcendence of persistent dichotomies. He endeavors to show that "all of these characteristics are firmly anchored to the need to articulate and defend determinate social interests by the leading intellectual personifications of capital." Annotation 2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
