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

Due to the context in which it emerges, and the proposals developed, critical theory has an important impact on 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.

Critical theory and the political value of knowledge production

The term Critical Theory groups a set of studies from several generations of Western European philosophers and social theorists . This is related to the last ones attached to the Frankfurt School, an intellectual movement of 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 to the analysis of various problems of contemporary society.

The latter emerges in a context where different social movements had 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 falls within the objectives described above could be considered a critical perspective, or a critical theory. Such is the case, for example, of feminist theories and movements or the decolonial ones .

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

Background and relationship between philosophy and 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 providing historical tools for the understanding of humanity.

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

Sigmund Freud, when speaking of a “subject of the unconscious” brought important criticisms to the predominance of modern reason, as well as to the idea of the undivided subject (the individual) of the same epoch .

Thus, reason had been historicized and socialized, in an important link with ideology ; which ended up generating important philosophical critiques, but also a wide relativism and skepticism about normativity, ethics and the different forms of life.

Part of what critical theory provides in this context is a less sceptical view of the same thing. Although society and the individual are products of a historical and relative construction process, in this process there is also room to question the norms (and generate new ones).

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

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 an important socio-political component: beyond describing or explaining phenomena, the intention is to value these phenomena, and from this, to 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.

Likewise, takes a distance from the scientific and objectivity project that had dominated the production of knowledge in the social sciences (which, in turn, came from the natural sciences). In fact, in its most classic 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 agent in the reality in which it lives.

Classical criteria of critical theory

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

Finally, it should be normative, while it should make clear how we can form a critical perspective and delimit achievable objectives . 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 it studies vary.

Interdisciplinarity

This could not be achieved through a single discipline or body of studies, as was largely the case in traditional social science theory. On the contrary, interdisciplinarity should be promoted , so that it would be possible to gather information on the psychological, cultural, social and institutional elements involved in current living conditions. Only in this way 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:

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