> You care to back that up with something other than an assertion. robert
> wood
>
> > Another point which deserves to be made: often those who do try and purge
> > these elements end up coming out the other side and being complete
> > dogmatists. Althusser here is a case in point.
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What? In the specific case of Althusser? I'll put it bluntly. He constructed his own system of language and tried to apply it to reality which come 1968 didn't comply. Then he went mental and finally published a wierd "dynamic" approach to philosophy which no one paid any attention to.
Anyone who submits language to such constrictions is pushing some seriously dogmatic agenda. A great critique of this use of language for dogmatic, self-assertive purposes can be found in Chomsky's critique of the behavioral psychologist BF Skinner; its far more readable than most of the French stuff and it can be applied to Althusser's attempt to, how shall I put it, make people speak his language...
If, on the other hand, you're asking me to back up the assertion that ethical purges often end in dogmatism I can only give examples. Althusser, the above mentioned Skinner, Heidegger's strange connection with Nazism comes to mind, comparing some of Wittgenstein's early work with his religious assertions is also interesting.