Louis Althusser Book order

What is to be done? This was the question asked by Lenin in 1901 when he was having doubts about the revolutionary capabilities of the Russian working class. 77 years later, Louis Althusser asked the same question. Faced with the tidal wave of May ‘68 and the recurrent hostility of the Communist Party towards the protests, he wanted to offer readers a succinct guide for the revolution to come. Lively, brilliant and engaged, this short text is wholly oriented towards one objective: to organise the working class struggle. Althusser provides a sharp critique of Antonio Gramsci’s writings and of Eurocommunism, which seduced various Marxists at the time. But this book is above all the opportunity for Althusser to state what he had not succeeded in articulating elsewhere: what concrete conditions would need to be satisfied before the revolution could take place. Left unfinished, it is published here in English for the first time.

The lectures on Rousseau's Discourse on the Origins of Inequality, delivered by Althusser in 1972, significantly influenced Rousseau scholarship by encouraging deeper exploration of his underlying concepts beyond mere metaphors. These insights reveal Althusser's early development of ideas related to aleatory materialism and a departure from strict historical determinism, laying the groundwork for a new philosophical approach to Marx. His interpretation emphasizes themes of void, accident, and the necessity of contingency within Rousseau's work.

Althusser dissects the leading Enlightenment philosopher

Originally published: Ecrits sur l'histoire, 1963-1986. Paris: Humensis, 2018.

In How to Be a Marxist in Philosophy one of the most famous Marxist philosophers of the 20th century shares his concept of what it means to function fruitfully as a political thinker within the discipline and environs of philosophy. This is the first English translation to Althusser's provocative and, often, controversial guide to being a true Marxist philosopher. Althusser argues that philosophy needs Marxism. It can't exist fully without it. Similarly, Marxism requires the rigour and structures of philosophy to give it form and focus. He calls all thinking people to, 'Remember: a philosopher is a man who fights in theory, and when he understands the reasons for this fight, he joined the ranks of the struggle of workers and popular classes.' In short, this book comprises Althusser's elucidation of what praxis means and why it continues to matter. With a superb introduction from translator and Althusser archivist G.M. Goshgarian, this is a book that will re-inspire contemporary Marxist thought and reinvigorate our notions of what political activism can be.

Acknowledgments Introduction by Warren Montag Note on the text by G.M. Goshgarian Philosophy for Non-Philosophers 1. What Non-philosophers Say 2. Philosophy and Religion The Big Detour 3. Abstraction 4. Technical Abstraction and Scientific Abstraction 5. Philosophical Abstraction 6. The Myth of the State of Nature 7. What is Practice? 8. The Practice of Production 9. Scientific Practice and Idealism 10. Scientific Practice and Materialism 11. Ideological Practice 12. The Ideological State Apparatuses 13. Political Practice 14. Psychoanalytic Practice 15. Artistic Practice 16. Philosophical Practice 17. Dominant Ideology and Philosophy 18. Philosophy as Theoretical Laboratory 19. Ideology and Philosophy 20. Philosophy and the Science of Class Struggle 21. A New Practice of Philosophy 22. The Dialectic: Laws or Theses? Notes Index

The book features three significant essays by Louis Althusser from the 1970s, each exploring self-criticism. The first addresses the political roots of Stalinism, linking it to a legacy of economism in the Second and Third Internationals. The second essay offers a critical reflection on Althusser's philosophical journey in the 1960s, including his engagement with structuralism. The final piece is an autobiographical account detailing his intellectual evolution from 1945 to 1975, presented during his doctoral ceremony at the University of Picardy.

Can psychoanalysis expand our comprehension of social and political life?

Focusing on the early intellectual development of Louis Althusser, this collection showcases his writings before his break with Hegelian philosophy in 1953. It includes his influential essay "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses," providing a glimpse into his initial engagement with Hegel's ideas. The book highlights Althusser's complex relationship with humanist Marxism and the philosophical influences of Hegel and Catholicism that shaped his thought.

First published as Sur la reproduction, [copyright] Presses Universitaires de France 1995.