Chapter 2 - Opposition

Summary

Chapter 2 analyses the dialectic of “determinations of reflection” in the logic of essence. It shows that the relation of “opposition” is more fundamental than the relation of “diversity,” and that, therefore, individuals are constituted through the relation of opposition that obtains between them. Turning to Marx, I argue that the relation between capital and labour is necessarily oppositional in character. Thus, the seeming diversity in labour arrangements in different economic settings in capitalism functions only as an illusion that masks the deeper relations of opposition and domination. Finally, I discuss Catharine MacKinnon’s conception of gender formation, according to which the very categories of male and female are constituted by the relation of opposition and domination that obtains between them.