A Study Of The Concept Of Sensibility In Marx’s Early Thought

Throughout the history of Western philosophy,ever since the advent of Plato’s ’Idea Theory’,rationalism has dominated philosophy,and sensibility has been reduced to its ’servant’ status.In classical German philosophy,however,Feuerbach was the first to raise the banner of ’sensibility’in an attempt to break through the discursive and abstract confines of rationalism and find a basis for the reality of human existence.Marx followed on this basis,incorporating Feuerbach’s principle of sensibility and the rational core of Hegel’s dialectic in his early texts,completing his own concept of sensibility,thus realising a critique and transcendence of traditional philosophy and initiating a Marxist philosophy based on human sensibility and concerned with human existence in the direction of existentialism.At the same time,Marx’s examination and critique of sensual reality shifted his philosophical vision to the field of political economy,thus laying a solid foundation for the discovery of historical materialism.At present,Chinese scholars are increasingly rich in research results on his early perceptual concepts,but on the whole there are still some problems,such as insufficient excavation of the perceptual concepts in the Doctoral Theses,focusing only on the study of perceptual concepts in a certain text or in a certain perspective,etc.Therefore,this study reopens the work on the concept of sensibility in Marx’s early thought,which will help us to fully understand the richness and importance of this concept and clarify the various misconceptions about it.The study is divided into four parts.The first part uses the research method of conceptual history to sort out and outline the historical development of the concept of sensibility in the three periods of ancient Western philosophy,modern Western philosophy and classical German philosophy,so as to uncover the rational connection between this treasure trove of thought and the concept of sensibility developed in Marx’s early thought.The development of the concept of sensibility from the ancient period as human sensual consciousness and sensual ontology,to sensual awareness in epistemology in the modern period,and finally to sensual being in classical German philosophy,is in line with the theoretical progression of ontology,epistemology and existentialism in Western philosophy,and has been continually debased by the development of rationalism.It is on this ideological premise that Marx rationally assimilates the philosophical achievements of his predecessors to propose a rich connotation for the concept of sensibility and restore it to its foundational position.The second part mainly employs hermeneutic and documentary research methods to explain the different perceptions of the connotation of the concept of sensibility in Marx’s early important texts from different periods,to explore its rational connotation from different dimensions,and finally to form a general grasp of the connotation of this concept.From sensual existence in the Doctoral Theses,to sensual emancipation in the Introduction to The Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Law,to sensual objectivity in The Philosophical Manuscripts on Economics of 1844,and finally to sensual practice in The Outline on Feuerbach,Marx’s concept of sensibility has a rich and profound connotation in different texts,and has a comprehensive conceptual elaboration under the multiple dimensions of epistemology,pragmatism and existentialism.The third part uses documentary research and the study of the literature.In the third part,the theoretical characteristics of the concept of sensibility in Marx’s early thought are revealed through a dual examination of the text and history,using the methods of documentary research and dialectic.The concept of sensibility in Marx’s early thought is,firstly,strongly critical,especially the double criticism of Hegel and Feuerbach,which makes the core concept of "sensual activity" strongly revolutionary.The last is objectivity,which means that the needs and essence of human beings as sensual subjects require the satisfaction and representation of objects.The fourth part mainly uses the unity of logic and history to clarify the theoretical status of the concept of sensibility in all of his thought,and to reveal the theoretical significance of this concept for the theoretical refinement of Marxism into China and the directional opening work of modern philosophical development.The concept of sensibility in Marx’s early thought is both the theoretical starting point of all Marxist thought and the logical precondition for the development of Marxist sinicization,and thus this concept has a fundamental theoretical status;while as the foundational concept for his philosophical transformation and the key to understanding the direction of contemporary philosophy,the concept of sensibility has profound philosophical significance that needs to be clarified and grasped.In summary,the basic connotation of the concept of sensibility in Marx’s early thought is the free and conscious practical activity of the subject in relation to the object,and this concept has three main characteristics: criticality,realism and objectivity.The concept of sensibility is not only a fundamental concept in Marx’s philosophy,it is also a key concept for us to gain a true insight into the core of Marxism.Only by understanding and grasping the concept of sensibility can we more clearly understand the advanced and revolutionary nature of Marx’s philosophy beyond traditional philosophy,more profoundly grasp the philosophical significance and practical guidance of Marxist philosophy,and more firmly take Marxist philosophy and the socialist ideological system with Chinese characteristics as the theoretical banner.