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đŸȘ” The Threshold

What the mind repels is a positive force shaping its concepts

Properties2
tagsja-picks, xref, define, contrarian_or_surprising, trade, singleton, category/contrarian-or-surprising
aliases@marcuse_one-dimensional_1964, loc. 740

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What the mind repels is a positive force shaping its concepts

Evidence

Thus “negatively present” are the specific “environmental” forces which precondition his mind for the spontaneous repulsion of certain data, conditions, relations. They are present as repelled material. Their absence is a reality—a positive factor that explains his actual mental processes, the meaning of his words and behavior. Meaning for whom? Not only for the professional philosopher, whose task it is to rectify the wrong that pervades the universe of ordinary discourse, but also for those who suffer this wrong although they may not be aware of it—for Joe Doe and Richard Roe. Contemporary linguistic analysis shirks this task by interpreting concepts in terms of an impoverished and preconditioned mind. — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 740

Categorization

  • XREF: Directly parallels the attention/consumption thesis — the same ‘preconditioned, impoverished mind’ that the attention economy creates and that accepts its reduced conceptual range as natural. — connects to: Rigidity in thought is a firmness that converts phenomena into resistant concepts — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel: Plasticity,
, 1027; The mind includes what is not expressed but still determines behavior — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the
, 739; Uninterrupted thought is itself resistance and holds possibility open — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry: Selected Essays
, 289 (+1 more)
  • DEFINE: Introduces ‘negatively present’ — the defining concept that repelled material shapes consciousness.

Broader Connections

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