What's Left of Philosophy 122 | Real Abstraction and the Origin of Consciousness with Alfred Sohn-Rethel
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Oct 14, 2025 The conversation dives into Alfred Sohn-Rethel's provocative ideas linking commodity exchange to the origins of human consciousness. They discuss real abstraction, suggesting that social practices shape our mental categories. Critiques arise over whether Sohn-Rethel overemphasizes exchange over production. The discussion touches on the historical roots of exchange, the relationship between abstraction and language, and how AI reflects these concepts. Ultimately, they explore the potential for a new social synthesis that prioritizes use value over exchange.
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Cognition Born From Exchange
- Alfred Sohn-Rethel argues that the cognitive categories Kant called a priori arise from social practices of commodity exchange.
- Real abstractions in exchange historically shape human cognition rather than pure reason existing independent of history.
Money Shows Real Abstraction
- Real abstraction is a social activity that precedes mental abstraction, turning things into exchangeable equivalents.
- Money exemplifies this: it functions practically as value yet is theoretically worthless, revealing the abstraction at work.
Kantian Categories Are Historical
- Sohn-Rethel's thesis repositions Kant within history: categories are historically conditioned, not timeless.
- That implies our scientific concepts reflect social forms and could change under a different social synthesis.
