Towards the Understanding of Karl Marx: A Revolutionary Interpretation
New York: The John Day Company [1933], 1933. First edition. Hardcover. 8vo. [6], vii-xiv, [2], 3-347, [5] pp. Tan cloth with red lettering and decoration on the front board and spine; red topstain. Price of $2.50 on the front flap of the dust jacket. Signed and dated by Hook (March 1936) on the free front endpaper. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Sidney Hook". Hook was a well-known early American pragmatist (second generation, after Dewey and James), and was greatly influenced by John Dewey's work (Dewey was Hook's advisor when he earned his PhD). This book is the philosopher's reconciliation of Marxism with pragmatism. For a time Hook viewed Marx's work as "a critical and experimental science of history ..." (SEP). Political and economic outcomes were the test cases for Marx's theory, and eventually Hook became disillusioned with Marxism as dictatorships took hold in Europe during the Second World War and after. These regimes proved that Marx's communism could not accurately predict social and political outcomes. The pragmatic theory of knowledge requires affirmation of a hypothesis by its experimental results and Marx's work did not live up to this requirement. Nonetheless this is a fascinating intersection of two schools of philosophy, difficult to find in dust jacket and in collectible condition. Very Good / Good or better. Item #000015318
A name on the front pastedown, foxing to the textblock, a small ding to the boards' bottom edges; jacket with several chips and with a few archival tape repairs to its reverse.
Price: $350.00