non-instrumental history

[nimsooze]

"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."

There are some phrases (underlined ones) that I can't understand and accordingly , I can't understand the overall meaning of these sentences. Please help me .

[RonBee]

Can you supply more context?

[nimsooze]

Not enough text?!

[David L.]

The Illusions of Postmodernism by Terry Eagleton

[nimsooze]

Then?

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by David L.

The Illusions of Postmodernism by Terry Eagleton

Thanks to the additional context, I now have a vague idea what is meant by non-instrumental goal, but I don't know how to put it into words.

It is the kind of writing which when you finally figure out what the writer is saying you realize you have been wasting your time.

[Snowcake]

Such paragraphs can fill a complete lesson, and can result in a long and intensive discussion.
I think it's not possible to provide an accurate meaning of this paragraph, since more context and background knowledge is needed. So we could only guess, and this would end up in a philosophical discussion. I'm studying marxism and critical theory, so I may assume what the author intends to say.

'Instrumental' includes a rational and reflective aspect (kind of thinking). If a pursuit is instrumental, it means that its costs and consequences are being considered and evaluated before any action can be taken and planned.

This might help you to understand the paragraph better. The text is full of terms that need to be clarified and defined before you can go on with the text and grasp its intended meaning and information.

[nimsooze]

Originally Posted by Snowcake

Such paragraphs can fill a complete lesson, and can result in a long and intensive discussion.
I think it's not possible to provide an accurate meaning of this paragraph, since more context and background knowledge is needed. So we could only guess, and this would end up in a philosophical discussion. I'm studying marxism and critical theory, so I may assume what the author intends to say.

'Instrumental' includes a rational and reflective aspect (kind of thinking). If a pursuit is instrumental, it means that its costs and consequences are being considered and evaluated before any action can be taken and planned.

This might help you to understand the paragraph better. The text is full of terms that need to be clarified and defined before you can go on with the text and grasp its intended meaning and information.

[Snowcake]

What is it that is worrying you so much?

I'm afraid that is what (social) sciences require: to approach theories by going through them with a fine-toothed comb, which includes and needs a clarification of all terms concerned.
Indeed, this will take you some time, but it is necessary in order to comprehend a theory in full.

Is this a text you have to read for a university course? It's good to have a dictionary, and secondary sources. I don't know anything about Terry Eagleton (actually, I haven't heard about him before). However, the terms you highlighted are general and not only used, or even coined by him. That means, you can look them up in a (sociological) dictionary, and then start thinking about that paragraph.

Have a go, nimsooze. You may come back here and show your first draft so that we can go on / start discussing your thoughts.

[Anglika]

Originally Posted by RonBee

Thanks to the additional context, I now have a vague idea what is meant by non-instrumental goal, but I don't know how to put it into words.

It is the kind of writing which when you finally figure out what the writer is saying you realize you have been wasting your time.

I love it!