joanna wrote:
>
> So when he said that philosophers should aim to
> change the world,
First you quote his exact words -- and then you immediately follow that up with a paraphrase nearly as mistaken as ravi's. Nowhere does Marx say that philosophers should aim to change the world. (It is even a bit misleading to say Marx tells _anyone_ he/she whould aim at changing the world: What he says over and over again is IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD, THEN....) Consider that the whole of the Theses on Feuerbach are concerned with _knowing_ the world and how it is to be known. Thesis 11 summarizes that epistemological thrust, saying IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD, YOU HAVE TO ENGAGE IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING IT. Not a word affirming that you _should_ want to change the world. Mao catches the thrust exactly: If you want to know what a pear tastes like, you have to engage in changing the world by biting into a pear.
Carrol