Kirjahaku

Escaping Alienation is a work of philosophical anthropology providing a theory of alienation and its opposite, dealienation. What it means to be human is answered from diverse perspectives provided by naturalism, pragmatism, existentialism, psychoanalysis and social psychology. A general concept of negativity is the theoretical core of this philosophy expressed by thinkers ranging from Parmenides to Hegel, Heidegger and Freud. The question of the meaning of being is answered existentially by a self-realizing humanity. Yet, an essential human nature is recognized reflecting a naturalistic perspective. The implications of a being composed of needs, desires, rationality and freedom are drawn out to exhibit the universal significance of alienation and dealienation. An integration of freedom with rationality suggests a prescription for dealienation concluding the treatise.

Understanding Ideology enables the reader to recognize public expressions of an ideology,thereby avoiding gullibility and the consequences of ignorance. Of Karl Mannheim's classic dual conception of ideology, a Marxist-Freudian orientation is adopted. Supporting this is a critical conception of social alienation with aggressivity, narcissism, and socialization providing the psychological foundation for establishing any ideology. Operative in ideology are the same psychically defensive mechanisms Freud found in wishful dreams, neurotic repression, paranoia and mythology. Various forms of fallacious reasoning and propaganda sustain ideology. Finally dealt with is the possibility of escaping ideology as well as its difference from science.