ÇeviriDescartes, Spinoza and Leibniz
Chapter Five Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz "The chief defect of all previous materialism (that of Feuerbach included) is that things, reality, sensuousness are conceived only as the form of the object, or of contemplation, but not as sensuous human activity, practice, not subjectively. Hence, in contradistinction to materialism, the active side was set forth abstractly by idealism—which, of course, does not know real, sensuous human activity, practice, not subjectively." (MECW, Vol. 5, p. 3.) This phrase of Marx, from the First Thesis on Feuerbach has often caused a certain puzzlement. Its meaning is not immediately clear, nor can it be made clear unless we place it in the context of the history of philosophy. Yet the idea contained within it is the starting-point for the development of dialectical materialism, and of Marxism in general. Once thought begins to develop, it takes on a certain life of its own, which proceeds more rapidly with the development of the div