ABSTRACT
Together with the demise of positivism as the paramount basis for the social sciences we have seen, in recent years, the toleration of theoretical pluralism in academic philosophy. The acceptability of a turn to speculative metaphysics as a basis for social theory is indicative of these tendencies. A renewed interest in Hegel and Heidegger and a questioning of the meaning, of rationalism indicates what could be termed a neo-idealist trend. This climate of thought makes it essential to review the status of Hegelian Marxism as an acceptable direction for Marxist theory. In this chapter I question whether a return to Hegelian philosophy in order to revitalise Marxism can be said to produce an acceptable synthesis. We need to enquire into the nature of this synthesis, looking at the ways in which Hegelian Marxists seek a rapprochement despite the fact that Marx’s innovations were conceived in reaction to Hegel. The following questions will be raised:
Does Hegel’s phenomenology bear any resemblance to that of Husserl? What points of contact can be discerned to adumbrate a possible synthesis with Marx?
What does Marx absorb from Hegel’s phenomenology as an explanation of the structure of consciousness and as a socio-historical analysis?
What status does Hegelian Marxism have as a synthesis? How does it accord with proposals for a synthesis based on Husserl’s phenomenology?
