What did Hegel, Marx, and Ilyenkov mean by “ideal”

E.V. Ilyenkov created the doctrine of the ideal, developing the concept of Marx. Marx came from the school of Hegel, although he subjected Hegel’s philosophy to a critical re­vision. There is a terminological continuity between the teachings of Hegel, Marx and Ilyenkov. In particular, Ilyenkov uses the term “ideal” not in the generally accepted sense today, but in the narrow, specific sense in which it was used by Marx and Hegel. For Hegel, the ideal or ideality is a denial of reality that presupposes its virtual preservation. Ideality is not an unchangeable substance, it is a relationship that arises between an object and the spirit that comprehends it, revealing the inner idea of the object. So, the word “tree” ideally contains a real tree. According to Hegel, the ideal does not exist by itself, but in activity, and this activity is cognition. Marx shares the understanding of ideality as a relationship between two objects, in which one represents and expresses the essence of the other. But ideality, according to Marx, “exists” in labor activity, in material produc­tion (including such aspects of it as exchange and consumption). Thus, an item, being put on the market, is included in the system of public relations and acquires an ideal value and price. Ilyenkov follows Marx in understanding the ideal. But the Soviet philosopher created a philosophical theory of the ideal. To do this, he rethought the interpretation of philosophy. Philosophy, according to Ilyenkov, is not a “science of sciences”, but a science of thinking. And thinking is connected with material production, in which the ideal is “born”

Denial · Doctrine · Education and Professional Development · Education, Literature, Philosophy Research · Flannery O'Connor and Thomas Merton