We may assume that a man regards as Anarchistic those teachings which he
designates as Anarchistic, and, further, those teachings which are
likewise characterized by the common qualities of these. We may further
assume that a man does not regard as Anarchistic those teachings which
he in any form contrasts with the Anarchistic teachings, nor, if he
undertakes to catalogue or describe the whole body of Anarchistic
teachings, those teachings unknown to him which are not characterized by
the common qualities of the teachings he catalogues or describes.
What group of teachings those non-conceptual notions of Anarchism and
its species which are most widely diffused among the men at present
scientifically concerned with Anarchism have in view, may be seen
secondly from the definitions of Anarchism and from other utterances
about it. We may doubtingly assume that a man regards as Anarchistic
those teachings which come under his definition of Anarchism, or for
which his utterances about Anarchism hold good; and, on the contrary,
that he does not regard as Anarchistic those teachings which do not come
under that definition, or for which these utterances do not hold good.
When these two means of knowledge lead to contradictions, the former
must be decisive. For, if a man so defines Anarchism, or so speaks of
Anarchism, that on this basis teachings which he declares
non-Anarchistic manifest themselves to be Anarchistic,--and perhaps
other teachings, which he counts among the Anarchistic, to be
non-Anarchistic,--this can be due only to his not being conscious of the
scope of his general pronouncements; therefore it is only from his
treatment of the individual teachings that one can find out his opinion
of these.
2. These means of knowledge inform us what group of teachings the
non-conceptual notions of Anarchism and its species most widely diffused
among the men at present scientifically concerned with Anarchism have in
view.
We learn, first, that the teachings of certain particular men are
recognized as Anarchistic teachings by the greater part of those who at
present are scientifically concerned with Anarchism.
We learn, second, that by the greater part of those who at present are
scientifically concerned with Anarchism the teachings of these men are
recognized as Anarchistic teachings only in so far as they relate to
law, the State, and property; but not in so far as they may be concerned
with the law, State, or property of a particular legal system or a
particular group of legal systems, nor in so far as they regard other
objects, such as religion, the family, art.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account