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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Reading group: ‘The Culture Industry’ chapter of Dialectic of Enlightenment
I do stand-up on the northern circuit and work in a call centre by day, which provides most of my material. A friend told me that Adorno and Horkheimer thought comedy on the radio was a form of social control, and I…
Started by Gemma Pritchard5 replies