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Morality, politics and critical theory: on the practical philosophy of the Frankfurt School

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posted on 2023-06-07, 21:56 authored by Gordon FinlaysonGordon Finlayson
Critical theory is a multifarious and dynamic body of thought, and it is hard to make general statements about its relation to practical philosophy without shoehorning it into one-size-fits-all judgments. To avoid doing this, this article indicates wherever possible whose critical theory is at issue and at what phase in its development. The Frankfurt School critical theory is a particular kind of Gesellschaftskritik or social criticism, the practical aims of which are essential to and inseparable from it. Indeed, as distinct from social theory or sociology, critical theory is, in the eyes of its architects and practitioners, a kind of practice. Yet critical theory is still very much philosophy. Furthermore, critical theory from early on had an almost entirely negative view of instrumental reasoning. This raises the question which asks about the kind of practical upshot that critical theory can have, absent of all political, moral, and prudential considerations.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Book title

The Oxford Handbook of Continental Philosophy

Series

Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Social and Political Philosophy

Department affiliated with

  • Philosophy Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Editors

Brian Leiter, Michael Rosen

Legacy Posted Date

2013-04-23

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