What is Critical Theory? Their ideas, objectives and main authors

Critical theory is a broad field of study that emerged in the first half of the 20th century., and that quickly expands towards the analysis of different characteristics of contemporary societies, both at a philosophical, historical and political level.

Due to the context in which it emerges, and the proposals developed, critical theory impacts The production of scientific knowledge and its potential in the social dynamics of domination and emancipation.

Next we will see in an introductory way what critical theory is, where it comes from and what are some of its main scopes and objectives.

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Critical theory and the political value of knowledge production

The term critical theory groups a body of studies drawn from several generations of Western European philosophers and social theorists. This is related to the last members of the Frankfurt School, an intellectual movement with a Marxist, Freudian and Hegelian tradition founded in Germany at the end of the 1920s.

Two of the greatest exponents of the first generation of this school are Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno. In fact, Horkheimer's 1937 work, called "Traditional Theory and Critical Theory" is recognized as one of the founding works of these studies.

In the second half of the 20th century, philosophers such as Herbert Marcuse and Jürgen Habermas continued the work of critical theory in a second generation of the Frankfurt School, extending their interests towards the analysis of different problems of society contemporary.

The latter emerges in a context where different social movements have already been fighting for the same thing. In fact, although in the academic context the development of this theory is attributed to the Frankfurt School, in practical terms any social or theoretical movement that is part of the objectives described above could be considered a critical perspective, or a theory criticism. Such is the case, for example, of feminist or decolonial theories and movements.

In general terms, critical theory is distinguished for being a philosophical approach that is articulated with fields of study such as ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of history and science social. In fact, it is characterized precisely by being based on a reciprocal relationship between philosophy and the social sciences.

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Background and relationship philosophy-social sciences

The academic development of critical theory is related to three of the theoretical antecedents of critical theory: Marx, Freud and Hegel.

On the one hand, Hegel was recognized as the last thinker of modern times capable of provide historical tools for the understanding of humanity.

For his part, Marx made an important critique of capitalism, and at the same time, he defended going beyond purely theoretical philosophy to give it a practical sense.

Sigmund Freud, when speaking of a "subject of the unconscious", brought important criticisms of the predominance of modern reason, as well as of the idea of ​​the undivided subject (the individual) of the same period.

So that, reason had been historicized and socialized, in an important link with ideology; which ended up generating important philosophical criticism, but also a broad relativism and skepticism about regulations, ethics and different ways of life.

Part of what critical theory brings in this context is a less skeptical view of the same. Although society and the individual are the product of a historical and relative construction process; in this process as well there is room to question the rules (and generate new ones).

Without these questions, and if everything is considered relative, it would be difficult to produce a transformation of both history and social conditions. This is how the production of knowledge in the social sciences is finally linked to the philosophical project of social criticism.

Breaks with traditional theory

The development of critical theory involves several breaks with traditional theory. In principle, because the production of knowledge in critical theory has a sociopolitical component. important: beyond describing or explaining phenomena, the intention is to assess these phenomena, and from this, understand the conditions of domination and promote social transformation. That is, the production of scientific knowledge has a political and moral sense, and not a purely instrumental one.

In addition, distances itself from the scientific project and objectivity that had dominated the production of knowledge in the social sciences (which, in turn, came from the natural sciences). In fact, in its most classical perspective, critical theory has as its object human beings themselves, understood as producers of their historical way of life. The object (of study) is at the same time subject of knowledge, and therefore an agent in the reality in which he lives.

Classic Criteria of Critical Theory

Horkheimer said that a critical theory should meet three main criteria: on the one hand, it should be explanatory (of social reality, especially in terms of power). On the other hand, it had to be practical, that is, recognize the subjects as agents of their own context and identify their potential to influence and transform said reality.

Finally, it had to be normative, insofar as it had to make clear how we can form a critical perspective and define achievable goals. At least in its first generation, and given its Marxist tradition, the latter was mainly focused on the analysis and transformation of capitalism towards a real democracy. As critical theory develops within different disciplines, the nuances and diversity of aspects that it studies vary.

interdisciplinarity

This could not be achieved through a single discipline or body of studies, as it had been in a large part of traditional theory in the social sciences. On the contrary, interdisciplinarity should be promoted, so that it was possible to gather information on both the psychological, cultural, social and institutional elements involved in the current living conditions. Only then would it be possible to understand traditionally divided processes (such as structure and agency) and give way to a critical perspective of the same conditions.

Bibliographic references:

• Bohmann, J. (2005). Critical Theory. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved October 5, 2018. Available in https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/critical-theory/#1.
• Fuchs, C. (2015). Critical Theory. The International Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Retrieved October 5. Available in http://fuchs.uti.at/wp-content/CT.pdf.