Lewis Samuel Feuer
Encyclopedia
Lewis Samuel Feuer was an American sociologist. Initially a committed Marxist, he became a neo-conservative.
, grew up on the Lower East Side, and attended DeWitt Clinton High school
. He graduated from City College
with distinction in 1931, and was awarded a Ph. D. at Harvard University
in 1935. for a dissertation in philosophy entitled "The philosophical analysis of space and time", supervised by Alfred North Whitehead
. While at Harvard, Feuer joined Paul and Alan Sweezy in founding the Harvard Teachers Union. This represents one obvious example of his persistent involvement in radical politics throughout the 1930s. During World War II, he served as a liaison between the American and French Armies on New Caledonia, where he actively campaigned on behalf of the indentured Indochinese and Indonesian coolie
laborers (who were liberated in 1945).
After World War II. he taught at Vassar College
and the University of California at Berkeley, where he early witnessed some of the student unrest about which he was to write. He constantly challenged the leaders of the student movement and appeared in a widely publicized debate with student leader Mario Savio
. He left Berkeley to go to the University of Toronto
. His last teaching position was as University Professor at the University of Virginia
, and was Professor Emeritus at the time of his death in 2002.
Feuer visited the Soviet Union during one of the first academic exchanges in the period after Stalin's death, often referred to as "the Thaw" and was expelled for challenging Soviet orthodoxies regarding Marxist thought. His experiences at Berkeley, where he challenged left wing student movements and professors who ceded to their demands, led Feuer to reject left wing, radical politics and he wrote continuously after this period about the corrupting influences of ideology on thought, the dangers of totalitarianism in the modern world and the role of the United States as a bulwark against tyranny and authoritarianism in the modern world. His edited collection, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: Basic Writings on Politics and Philosophy ( 1959) is one of the most widely used readers on Marxian thought ever published. Politically, he was closely allied with the philosophical anti-communism of Sidney Hook
.
His work ranged across a wide range of fields such as Marxist and neo-Marxist thought, the sociology of knowledge
, the sociology of science, sociological theory, ideology and intellectuals, the history of ideas
, the sociology of generations, the history and sociology of Jews and Judaism, and philosophy. He was one of the earliest interpreters of the relationship between psychoanalysis and philosophy and produced many studies of the psychoanalytic dimensions of ideology and intellectual life. His extensive knowledge of the more arcane intricacies of Marx's life and a deep love of the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes were the basis for a novel entitled The Case of the Revolutionists Daughter:Sherlock Holmes Meets Karl Marx (1983). The novel can be read as a critique of Marx's personal moral failings, which call into question his philosophy and politics.
Life
Feuer was born in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, grew up on the Lower East Side, and attended DeWitt Clinton High school
DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the Bronx, New York City, New York.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in Brooklyn...
. He graduated from City College
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
with distinction in 1931, and was awarded a Ph. D. at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1935. for a dissertation in philosophy entitled "The philosophical analysis of space and time", supervised by Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead, OM FRS was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education...
. While at Harvard, Feuer joined Paul and Alan Sweezy in founding the Harvard Teachers Union. This represents one obvious example of his persistent involvement in radical politics throughout the 1930s. During World War II, he served as a liaison between the American and French Armies on New Caledonia, where he actively campaigned on behalf of the indentured Indochinese and Indonesian coolie
Coolie
Historically, a coolie was a manual labourer or slave from Asia, particularly China, India, and the Phillipines during the 19th century and early 20th century...
laborers (who were liberated in 1945).
After World War II. he taught at Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
and the University of California at Berkeley, where he early witnessed some of the student unrest about which he was to write. He constantly challenged the leaders of the student movement and appeared in a widely publicized debate with student leader Mario Savio
Mario Savio
""...But we're a bunch of raw materials that don't mean to be - have any process upon us. Don't mean to be made into any product! Don't mean - Don't mean to end up being bought by some clients of the University, be they the government, be they industry, be they organized labor, be they anyone!...
. He left Berkeley to go to the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. His last teaching position was as University Professor at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, and was Professor Emeritus at the time of his death in 2002.
Feuer visited the Soviet Union during one of the first academic exchanges in the period after Stalin's death, often referred to as "the Thaw" and was expelled for challenging Soviet orthodoxies regarding Marxist thought. His experiences at Berkeley, where he challenged left wing student movements and professors who ceded to their demands, led Feuer to reject left wing, radical politics and he wrote continuously after this period about the corrupting influences of ideology on thought, the dangers of totalitarianism in the modern world and the role of the United States as a bulwark against tyranny and authoritarianism in the modern world. His edited collection, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: Basic Writings on Politics and Philosophy ( 1959) is one of the most widely used readers on Marxian thought ever published. Politically, he was closely allied with the philosophical anti-communism of Sidney Hook
Sidney Hook
Sidney Hook was an American pragmatic philosopher known for his contributions to public debates.A student of John Dewey, Hook continued to examine the philosophy of history, of education, politics, and of ethics. After embracing Marxism in his youth, Hook was known for his criticisms of...
.
His work ranged across a wide range of fields such as Marxist and neo-Marxist thought, the sociology of knowledge
Sociology of knowledge
The Sociology of knowledge is the study of the relationship between human thought and the social context within which it arises, and of the effects prevailing ideas have on societies...
, the sociology of science, sociological theory, ideology and intellectuals, the history of ideas
History of ideas
The history of ideas is a field of research in history that deals with the expression, preservation, and change of human ideas over time. The history of ideas is a sister-discipline to, or a particular approach within, intellectual history...
, the sociology of generations, the history and sociology of Jews and Judaism, and philosophy. He was one of the earliest interpreters of the relationship between psychoanalysis and philosophy and produced many studies of the psychoanalytic dimensions of ideology and intellectual life. His extensive knowledge of the more arcane intricacies of Marx's life and a deep love of the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes were the basis for a novel entitled The Case of the Revolutionists Daughter:Sherlock Holmes Meets Karl Marx (1983). The novel can be read as a critique of Marx's personal moral failings, which call into question his philosophy and politics.
Works
- Spinoza And The Rise Of Liberalism (1951)
- Psychoanalysis and Ethics (1955)
- Karl Marx And Friedrich Engels: political and philosophical writings (1959), editor
- The Scientific Intellectual: the psychological and sociological origins of modern science (1963)
- The Conflict of Generations: the character and significance of student movements'(1969)
- Marx and the Intellectuals: a set of post-ideological essays (1969)
- Einstein and the Generations of Science (1974)
- Ideology and the Ideologists (1975)
- The Case of the Revolutionist's Daughter: Sherlock Holmes Meets Karl Marx (1983)
- Imperialism and the Anti-imperialist Mind (1986)
- Varieties of Scientific Experience: emotive aims in scientific hypotheses (1995)
Further reading
- Philosophy, history, and social action : essays in honor of Lewis Feuer : with an autobiographical essay by Lewis Feuer (1988) edited by Lewis Samuel Feuer, Sidney HookSidney HookSidney Hook was an American pragmatic philosopher known for his contributions to public debates.A student of John Dewey, Hook continued to examine the philosophy of history, of education, politics, and of ethics. After embracing Marxism in his youth, Hook was known for his criticisms of...
, William L. O'Neill, Roger O'Toole . This volume contains a complete bibliography of all of Lewis S. Feuer's published works.