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Created page with " {{navmenu}} <h1 class="customtitle">{{FULLPAGENAME}}</h1> <blockquote class="definition"> '''Species-being''' is Karl Marx's name for the inner self or Spiritual ego. </blockquote> ==Concept Map== ===Syncretic Terms=== Spiritual Ego > {{#ask:Is a syncretic term::Spiritual Ego|format=ul}} ===Related LP Terms=== Species Being > {{#ask:Is a related LP term::Species Being}} ===Non-LP Related Terms=== Species Being > {{#ask:Is a related ter..."
 
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===Related LP Terms===  
===Related LP Terms===  


[[Species Being]] > {{#ask:[[Is a related LP term::Species Being]]}}
[[Species Being]] >
* [[Alignment]]
* [[Connection]]
* [[Spiritual Ego]]
* [[Bodily Ego]]
* [[Seven Essential Needs]]
* [[Toxic Socialization]]
* [[Regime of Accumulation]]
{{#ask:[[Is a related LP term::Species Being]]}}


===Non-LP Related Terms===
===Non-LP Related Terms===
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==Notes==
==Notes==


In the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, Marx argues that what makes humans human is "free, conscious activity" — our capacity to create, to shape the world deliberately, and to do so as an end in itself rather than from bare necessity: man "produces even when he is free from physical need and only truly produces in freedom therefrom" (Marx, 1844/1978).  
'''Species Being''' is Karl Marx's term for the essential nature of the human species — what Marx also calls man's "species character." For Marx, the defining feature of human Species Being is ''free, conscious activity'': the capacity to create, to shape the world deliberately, and to do so as an end in itself rather than from bare physical necessity. As he puts it in the ''Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844'', "The whole character of a species — its species character — is contained in the character of its life-activity; and free, conscious activity is man's species character," adding that man "produces even when he is free from physical need and only truly produces in freedom therefrom."<ref>Marx, Karl. "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844." In ''The Marx-Engels Reader'', 2nd ed., edited by Robert C. Tucker, "Estranged Labour." W. W. Norton, 1978 (written 1844).</ref>


To paraphrase, "You can only be your true self when all your needs are met."
=== Species Being and Alignment ===
In LP terms, species-being functions as a secular version of the inner self / spiritual ego — the essential, spiritual, creative, and connective  nature each person carries, which they can either be in [[alignment]] with, or not.
In LP terms, species-being functions as a secular version of the inner self / spiritual ego — the essential, spiritual, creative, and connective  nature each person carries, which they can either be in [[alignment]] with, or not.


Marx's concept of '''alienation''' is, correspondingly, a statement of [[Misalignment]]. Under estranged labour, the worker is separated from his own nature on four levels: from the product of his work, from the act of working itself, from his Species Being, and from other human beings.<ref>Marx, Karl. "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844." In ''The Marx-Engels Reader'', 2nd ed., edited by Robert C. Tucker, "Estranged Labour." W. W. Norton, 1978 (written 1844).</ref> In LP terms, this leads to [[Disconnection Disorder|Disconnection Disorders]]).
Alienation from Species Being approximates the loss of inner [[Alignment]]; alienation from other human beings approximates the loss of outer alignment. Where LP would say that the [[Regime of Accumulation]] and [[Toxic Socialization]] knock individuals out of alignment and creates painful [[Disjuncture]], among other things, Marx says that capitalism estranges the worker from his own essence.
For Marx, ''communism is the name for restored alignment:''<blockquote>"Communism as the positive transcendence of private property as human self-estrangement, and therefore as the real appropriation of the human essence by and for man; communism therefore as the complete return of man to himself as a social (i.e., human) being … the true resolution of the strife between existence and essence, between objectification and self-confirmation, between freedom and necessity, between the individual and the species."<ref>Marx, Karl. "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844." In ''The Marx-Engels Reader'', 2nd ed., edited by Robert C. Tucker, "Private Property and Communism." W. W. Norton, 1978 (written 1844).</ref></blockquote>The resolution of the strife "between existence and essence" and "between the individual and the species" is close to a literal statement of inner and outer [[Alignment]]: one's actual life reconciled with one's real nature, and one's individuality reconciled with one's social being.
In ''The German Ideology'', Marx and Engels give the plain-language version of what an aligned life looks like — the free expression of human capacities, unbound by any fixed role imposed by the division of labour:<blockquote>"…in communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic."<ref>Marx, Karl, and Frederick Engels. ''The German Ideology''. In ''The Marx-Engels Reader'', 2nd ed., edited by Robert C. Tucker, "Part I: Feuerbach." W. W. Norton, 1978 (written 1846).</ref></blockquote>In the third volume of ''Capital'', Marx provides the mature formulation: beyond the realm of necessity "begins that development of human energy which is an end in itself, the true realm of freedom," which, Marx insists, "can blossom forth only with this realm of necessity as its basis."<ref>Marx, Karl. ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'', Vol. 3, p. 320. International Publishers, 1967 (first published 1894); as quoted in Harvey, David. ''Spaces of Hope''. University of California Press, 2000, pp. 132–133.</ref> Alignment, in other words, requires that basic needs be sufficiently satisfied first — a point formalized in the [[Seven Essential Needs|Circle of Seven Essential Needs]], where satisfaction of the basic needs provides the scaffolding for [[Alignment]] and [[Connection]].<ref>Sosteric, Mike, and Gina Ratkovic. "It Takes a Village: Advancing Attachment Theory and Recovering the Roots of Human Health with the Circle of Seven Essential Needs." ''Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work'' 34, no. 1 (2022): 113–127. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol34iss1id887</ref>


{{template:endstuff}}
=== Divergence from the LP Concept ===
Marx keeps the analysis horizontal: human essence is species-life, fully social and naturalistic ("fully developed naturalism, equals humanism"). The LP framework keeps Marx's basic structure, an essential inner nature, systematic alienation from it under exploitative conditions, and restoration through social transformation,  adds the vertical "spiritual" dimension. In LP terms, [[Alignment]] is alignment not only with one's human essence but with the [[Spiritual Ego]], and it points onward to [[Connection]] with something more than the species. LP's Alignment is Marx's Species Being with the spiritual dimension put back in.{{template:endstuff}}


[[category:terms]]
[[category:terms]]
[[category:marxism]]
[[category:marxism]]
[[Is a syncretic term::Spiritual Ego| ]]
[[Is a syncretic term::Spiritual Ego| ]]

Latest revision as of 13:19, 18 August 2026

Species Being

Species-being is Karl Marx's name for the inner self or Spiritual ego.

Concept Map

Syncretic Terms

Spiritual Ego >

... further results

Related LP Terms

Species Being >


Non-LP Related Terms

Species Being >

Notes

Species Being is Karl Marx's term for the essential nature of the human species — what Marx also calls man's "species character." For Marx, the defining feature of human Species Being is free, conscious activity: the capacity to create, to shape the world deliberately, and to do so as an end in itself rather than from bare physical necessity. As he puts it in the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, "The whole character of a species — its species character — is contained in the character of its life-activity; and free, conscious activity is man's species character," adding that man "produces even when he is free from physical need and only truly produces in freedom therefrom."[1]

To paraphrase, "You can only be your true self when all your needs are met."

Species Being and Alignment

In LP terms, species-being functions as a secular version of the inner self / spiritual ego — the essential, spiritual, creative, and connective nature each person carries, which they can either be in alignment with, or not.

Marx's concept of alienation is, correspondingly, a statement of Misalignment. Under estranged labour, the worker is separated from his own nature on four levels: from the product of his work, from the act of working itself, from his Species Being, and from other human beings.[2] In LP terms, this leads to Disconnection Disorders).

Alienation from Species Being approximates the loss of inner Alignment; alienation from other human beings approximates the loss of outer alignment. Where LP would say that the Regime of Accumulation and Toxic Socialization knock individuals out of alignment and creates painful Disjuncture, among other things, Marx says that capitalism estranges the worker from his own essence.

For Marx, communism is the name for restored alignment:

"Communism as the positive transcendence of private property as human self-estrangement, and therefore as the real appropriation of the human essence by and for man; communism therefore as the complete return of man to himself as a social (i.e., human) being … the true resolution of the strife between existence and essence, between objectification and self-confirmation, between freedom and necessity, between the individual and the species."[3]

The resolution of the strife "between existence and essence" and "between the individual and the species" is close to a literal statement of inner and outer Alignment: one's actual life reconciled with one's real nature, and one's individuality reconciled with one's social being. In The German Ideology, Marx and Engels give the plain-language version of what an aligned life looks like — the free expression of human capacities, unbound by any fixed role imposed by the division of labour:

"…in communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic."[4]

In the third volume of Capital, Marx provides the mature formulation: beyond the realm of necessity "begins that development of human energy which is an end in itself, the true realm of freedom," which, Marx insists, "can blossom forth only with this realm of necessity as its basis."[5] Alignment, in other words, requires that basic needs be sufficiently satisfied first — a point formalized in the Circle of Seven Essential Needs, where satisfaction of the basic needs provides the scaffolding for Alignment and Connection.[6]

Divergence from the LP Concept

Marx keeps the analysis horizontal: human essence is species-life, fully social and naturalistic ("fully developed naturalism, equals humanism"). The LP framework keeps Marx's basic structure, an essential inner nature, systematic alienation from it under exploitative conditions, and restoration through social transformation, adds the vertical "spiritual" dimension. In LP terms, Alignment is alignment not only with one's human essence but with the Spiritual Ego, and it points onward to Connection with something more than the species. LP's Alignment is Marx's Species Being with the spiritual dimension put back in.==Citation and Legal== The SpiritWiki is a freely available, open-access Knowledge System devoted to health, healing, and reconnection. You may freely use information in the SpiritWiki; citation and attribution are welcomed, but not required. You can help this knowledge system grow by joining its Patreon.

The SpiritWiki is marked CC0 1.0 Universal and in the public domain, free for everyone on the planet to use. Please support its growth.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Marx, Karl. "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844." In The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed., edited by Robert C. Tucker, "Estranged Labour." W. W. Norton, 1978 (written 1844).
  2. ↑ Marx, Karl. "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844." In The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed., edited by Robert C. Tucker, "Estranged Labour." W. W. Norton, 1978 (written 1844).
  3. ↑ Marx, Karl. "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844." In The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed., edited by Robert C. Tucker, "Private Property and Communism." W. W. Norton, 1978 (written 1844).
  4. ↑ Marx, Karl, and Frederick Engels. The German Ideology. In The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed., edited by Robert C. Tucker, "Part I: Feuerbach." W. W. Norton, 1978 (written 1846).
  5. ↑ Marx, Karl. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Vol. 3, p. 320. International Publishers, 1967 (first published 1894); as quoted in Harvey, David. Spaces of Hope. University of California Press, 2000, pp. 132–133.
  6. ↑ Sosteric, Mike, and Gina Ratkovic. "It Takes a Village: Advancing Attachment Theory and Recovering the Roots of Human Health with the Circle of Seven Essential Needs." Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work 34, no. 1 (2022): 113–127. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol34iss1id887
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