School
Critical theory
Critical theory is the social philosophy of the Frankfurt School, which studies how society and culture sustain domination and how to change them.
It grew from the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, founded in 1923, and was shaped by Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno and Herbert Marcuse, with Walter Benjamin close to the circle; they drew on Marx, Hegel and Freud. Jürgen Habermas led a later generation, turning to communication and democracy. The term is also used more broadly for any theory that aims at social critique and emancipation. On this site it answers questions on art and mass culture, distributive justice (6.4.1), social ontology, the philosophy of social science and political philosophy.
Thinkers of this school
- Herbert Marcuse1898 – 1979
- Jürgen Habermas1929 – 2026
- Max Horkheimer1895 – 1973
- Theodor W. Adorno1903 – 1969
- Walter Benjamin1892 – 1940
Guide: Schools of Philosophy: The Main -isms and the Questions They Answer
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Reproduction did not wither the aura of art; it made the aura more valuable
I've just reread Walter Benjamin's essay on the work of art in the age of its technological reproducibility, from the mid-1930s. His claim, roughly: the original work has an "aura", its unique presence in one time and place, its embeddedness in a…
Started by Chiara Bellandi5 replies -
Searle’s “X counts as Y in C” leaves out the power that makes people accept it
I spend a lot of time in job centres, accompanying people as a volunteer. A person walks in and, after one interview, counts as a jobseeker. The status comes with obligations (attend, apply, report), sanctions if they fail, and a set of…
Started by Johanna Reinhardt6 replies -
Critical theory diagnoses domination brilliantly but cannot say why it is wrong
I work as an economist at a bank in Valencia, and Marx, Rawls, Hobbes and Ibn Khaldun share a shelf at home. I'd like to press an old objection to critical theory and see whether it still bites. Critical theory asks what…
Started by Javier Ferrandis5 replies