The Concrete over Abstract: Marx's Humanism over Heidegger's (anti)Humanism

The question of “how one should philosophize?” is driven not only out of the desire to have a glimpse of the ideas worthy to be regarded as true, but also to address the pressing problems of the time. Marx’s humanism, as articulated mainly in the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, suggests a certain thinking that addresses the latter. It is the humanism that discovers the concrete estrangement of workers from the abstraction of the political economy at the backdrop of human emancipation. Heidegger, however, in the Letter on Humanism, poses critical challenge against the humanism Marx suggested. He questions Marx’s humanism (and the humanism in totality) to provide the human being direction to attain its essential humanity, and not just relegate man into inhumanity of animalitas. The paper critically examines the ideas given by Heidegger. Although Heidegger could be correct in his examination of the previous humanism, which includes Marx, how he understands the essence of man as “ek-sistence” is but a form of abstraction, an abstraction which is based in his inhuman concept of thinking. The paper does not entirely denounce Heidegger’s thinking, but appeals to recognize the dangers containing in its ambiguity and abstractness. Marx’s humanism, on the other hand, though has forgotten being, is more concrete. With this, the paper calls to repose the tasks and the questions of humanism, and directs thinking out from the dangers of abstraction to concrete understanding of human beings, their problems and solutions.