non-instrumental history

[Kraken]

Erm, I wonder whether there are many English speaking people who can make heads or tails of it.
IF it was written in my mother tongue I could not understand it. And IF I could understand it, I couldn't explain it. And IF I could, I couldn't do it in a way which could be understood.
But wait... isn't it what nihilism is about?

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by Kraken

Erm, I wonder whether there are many English speaking people who can make heads or tails of it. Not many.
IF it was written in my mother tongue I could not understand it. And IF I could understand it, I couldn't explain it. And IF I could, I couldn't do it in a way which could be understood.
But wait... isn't it what nihilism is about?

[nimsooze]

Ok camarads!
I think that we have seen enough smileys in this thread.Let's clarify it more. The most ambigous part ,for me, is
"(non)instrumental".Who knows what "non-instrumental goal" and "instrumental pursuit " do mean?

[Anglika]

"This is yet another sense in which, for socialism, history moves under the sign of irony. And it is a dangerous irony too, since it is easy enough to destroy the non-instrumental goal in the instrumental pursuit of it, to justify the functional means by the non-functional end."

Ok - here's a take on it: "instrumental" means serving as a means of pursuing an aim, serving as a crucial means, agent, or tool - so something that is non-instrumental is something that is not serving as such a means, so I interpret "non-instrumental goal" to be an an ethical and disinterested goal.

[nimsooze]

What does mean"history moves under the sign of ..."?
To what "irony" refers? Why this irony is "dangerous"?

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by nimsooze

What does mean"history moves under the sign of ..."?
To what "irony" refers? Why this irony is "dangerous"?

The phrase is under the sign of irony, which means there is something ironic about it.

[nimsooze]

And the second question?

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by nimsooze

To what "irony" refers? Why this irony is "dangerous"?

What does "irony" refer to?

Irony - Glossary Definition - UsingEnglish.com

Why is this irony dangerous?

I haven't a clue.

[Snowcake]

"This is yet another sense in which for socialism history moves under the sign of irony. And it is a dangerous irony too ---->>>, since it is easy enough to destroy the non-instrumental goal in the instrumental pursuit of it ,to justify the functional means by the non-functional end."

You find the reasoning in this sentence. It's only that you have to understand the meaning of this passage to know why that irony is according to Eagleton dangerous.

[nimsooze]

what is your idea?