Critical accounts of Amis's Money tend to assert that John Self is a representation of postmodernism. This article casts new light on Self by showing that he may be read as an embodiment of positivism. Self's inability to think speculatively and creatively; his eschewal of moral responsibility in his relationships with others, combined with the materiality of his desires and concerns, shows that he is very much a product of positivism – an outlook that is intimately supportive of, and championed by, classical and late capitalism. This article begins with an exploration of the ways in which positivism is fostered in capitalist societies. It then moves on to a consideration of those aspects of Self's personality – namely his intolerance of difference, respect for hierarchy and order, and his trust in the reality of money – that cannot be assimilated into a postmodern reading, and that intimate a positivist outlook. Finally, the article explores the two facets of his personality that are the most conspicuous tokens of his positivism and which he also struggles against – with the aid of Martina Twain – in a bid to recover a stable life: his paucity of emotional feeling for others and his inability to interpret or think speculatively.

中文翻译：

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《一维人》

对 Amis's Money 的批判性描述倾向于断言 John Self 是后现代主义的代表。这篇文章通过表明他可以被解读为实证主义的一个体现，从而对自我进行了新的阐述。自我无法进行思辨和创造性思考；他在与他人的关系中回避道德责任，再加上他的欲望和关注的物质性，表明他在很大程度上是实证主义的产物——一种密切支持古典资本主义和晚期资本主义的观点。本文首先探讨了资本主义社会中培养实证主义的方式。然后继续考虑自我个性的这些方面——即他对差异的不容忍、对等级和秩序的尊重，以及他对金钱现实的信任——这不能被后现代读物同化，并且暗示了一种实证主义的观点。最后，文章探讨了他个性的两个方面，这是他的实证主义最显着的标志，也是他在玛蒂娜·吐温的帮助下为恢复稳定生活而与之抗争的两个方面：他对他人缺乏情感以及他无法解释或思考的能力。