Lukács

by George Lichtheim

Book by Lichtheim, George

Genres: Philosophy

141 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

George Lichtheim (1912-1973) was a German-born intellectual whose works focused on the history and theory of socialism and Marxism. He defined himself as a socialist and stated in a 1964 letter to the New York Review of Books that "I am not a liberal and never have been. I find liberalism almost as boring as communism and have no wish to be drawn into an argument over which of these two antiquated creeds is less likely to advance us any further."
His work appeared in the Palestine Post, Commentary, Partisan Review, Dissent, the New Leader, Encounter, the Times Literary Supplement and the New York Review of Books. Additionally, he translated Gershom Scholem's Main Currents in Jewish Mysticism. His death was by suicide.

Reviews

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the weaker and more dismissive accounts of Lukács. Look to more recent accounts for a better view...

[Patrick Hoban · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a slog to get through. Lichtheims use of language is intentionally dense and feels unnecessary. The only respite from this dull and pretentious writing style comes when quoting Lukács or other writers directly. There is also a palpable disdain for some of Lukács writing throughout the book. This is a direct quote when discussing Studies in European Realism,

"Most of the writings brought together in this volume are of such banality as to defy not only criticism but even simple exposition."

Despite the poor writing there are some gems of insight as to Lukács relation to Marx and Hegel.
I however can't help but think that my time would be better spent reading Lukács directly.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lichtheim is full of shit regarding Nietzsche (as he usually is), but apart from that, I was very impressed by this work. It gave me plenty to think about regarding Lukács himself, helped to illustrate ontological differences between Engels’ and Marx’s forms of materialism that had previously been obscured to me, and helped me understand what Hegel was actually trying to do. Four stars.

[Frank Ashe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this as part of the broadening of my autodidactic education beyond science - catching up on all the things I might need to know about the human condition. Reading the Fontana Modern Masters series seemed a cheap and easy way to get introduced to thinkers I'd never heard of but some people had thought important enough to put into such a series. I trusted to serendipity as a guiding principle of how to educate myself.

Who's heard of Lukacs now?

Books like this made me think of the idea of history as a tapestry of thought - strands that can be seen as individual threads, but step back and they form a pattern, step back further, and the pattern can be seen as a greater picture; now make this multidimensional - warp and weft and woof and ...
The tapestry is not a flat surface, it twists and turns and folds back on itself; breaks in some places; colours bleed from one part to another; but look closely and you can see the thread of one life, or the fibres of an idea.

[Ali A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

قرأتُ ترجمتَهُ الصادرة عن المؤسسة العربية للدراسات والنشر عام ١٩٨٢ ط١، ولقد ترجمها ماهر الكيالي ويوسف شويري، مراجعة وتقديم د. أسعد رزوق...
الكتاب شبه موضوعي... تحدّث المؤلّف جورج لختهايم عن لوكاش وعن العميق والسطحي في كتبه ومنها الرواية التاريخية، تحطيم العقل، ماهية الجمال (علم الجمال)...
وعن نضج لوكاش الثمانيني وتراجعه عن بعض أفكار شبابه واندفاعاته...

[Justin Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book on Lukacs, Lichtheim sure has nothing to say about Lukacs' most important work. No doubt someone had to explain, at great length, that the later Lukacs was execrable nonsense. But more attention to his life or to the earlier work would have made for a more edifying read.

[伞 擎杨 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's more about the objective aesthetics of Lukacs. Lukacs holds a reflective view, following Hegel, Marx, and Engels, about art. The 2nd chapter talks about the components of Lukacs's thoughts.

[Harry Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10