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This essay argues for the philosophical standing of Walter Benjamin’s early work and posits a deeper continuity between this early work as a philosopher and the subsequent development of his work as a writer. When these fragments are read in proper relation to each other, they reveal for the first time many of the key innovations of Benjamin as a philosopher, as well as his points of influence on Horkheimer and Adorno. His early ‘Program’ critiques the Enlightenment conception of experience as a means for gaining empirical knowledge, and announces the need for a new concept of experience. Benjamin follows through on this program with a method of philosophical enquiry that is by turns fragmentary and constellational, developing a series of provisional notions of experience, which form a constellation with one another: perception, mimesis, language as a medium of experience, observation and memory.
The evolution of Critical Theory in the thought of Jürgen Habermas has important consequences for political questions, influencing the actual intellectual debate. This paper examines the main works and studies of Habermas about the epistemology of social sciences, the critique of late capitalist society, the public sphere and democracy, and proposes a comparison with the positions of Jacques Derrida, to have a better comprehension of this evolution.
A pergunta que move o presente artigo é: como a categoria trabalho social deveria ser incluída no marco de uma teoria social para que, dentro dela, abra uma perspectiva de melhoria qualitativa que não seja utópica? Para dar conta desse problema complexo, o autor sugere num primeiro passo, mais metodológico, o emprego da distinção entre crítica externa e imanente para o propósito de uma crítica das relações de trabalho existentes. Num segundo passo, o autor procura mostrar que o trabalho social só poderá assumir legitimamente este papel de uma norma imanente se ele for conectado às condições de reconhecimento na moderna troca de realizações (Leistungen). São reconstruídas duas condições a partir de Hegel e de Durkheim: uma organização justa do trabalho social necessita remunerar suficientemente o trabalhador para prover-lhe condições socialmente dignas de sobrevivência e precisa estar estruturado de modo a que suas tarefas permitam ao indivíduo trabalhador perceber nelas uma contribuição para a coletividade e relacioná-la com o restante dos trabalhos socialmente necessários.
This essay reflects on the convergence between Jürgen Habermas’ work and the theoretical framework put forward by the Institute of Social Research in Frankfurt, arguing in favor of the characteristics of the Frankfurt school in Habermas and pointing out research possibilities in the field of Organizational Studies (OS). We discuss the essential theoretical aspects of the work by Horkheimer (1975) “Traditional and Critical Theory,” and produce a critique on the use of generational chronology as the main criterion for understanding the intellectual movement of the Frankfurt School. The methodology is based on the critique of the interpretation using the philosophical hermeneutics (RICOEUR, 1990) and observes the propositional nature of an interpretation offered in theoretical essays (MENEGUETTI, 2011). To support the provocative proposition of this work, we establish a dialogue with authors such as Bottomore (2001), Freitag (2004), Nobre (2004), and Melo (2013)) discussing a non-generational characterization of the Frankfurt School’s members and the proximity of Habermas in relation to the pioneer works on the Critical Theory. We believe that (i) the re-reading of the emancipatory purpose (HABERMAS, 2002); (ii) the deconstruction of the impartiality of the scientific knowledge (HABERMAS, 1987); (iii) and the incorporation of the philosophy of language into the Frankfurtian social criticism (HABERMAS, 2012) are important contributions of Habermas to the Frankfurt’s critical theory. As for a proposal for the field of organizational studies, this esseay concludes that recognizing Habermas as a Critical Theory scholar of the Frankfurt School may constitute a new research agenda for the field. The contribution of this essay lies in helping researchers in the field of Organizational Studies to understand Habermas’ work differently and not as a non-critical or utopian production. In this perspective, it is clear that Habermas’ intellectual production is politically engaged in contemporary social problems, which is a dimension neglected by the researchers of the field of Organizational Studies in Brazil.
The essay focuses on the impact of Marcuse’s Eros and Civilization in Germany in 1968. First, the essay discusses how Freud’s theory was used in the late twenties at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt. Then, it focuses on how certain of Adorno and Horkheimer’s ideas were developed in Eros and Civilization. Finally, it shows how Marcuse’s work became relevant for the intellectual development of the student movement in Germany.
The papers here collected are divided in an English and an Italian section, to facilitate the reader who is confident, or prefers, only one of these languages. In both sections, Critical Theory is addressed in a twofold way: as regards its origins in the so-called School of Frankfurt and as concerns its further and contemporary developments, from an interdisciplinary perspective.
El objetivo principal de este trabajo es replantear la posibilidad de realizar una síntesis entre la fenomenología de Husserl y la teoría crítica de la Escuela de Frankfurt. Para ello realizaremos una revisión crítica de los textos del primer Marcuse (1928-1933), cuyo proyecto filosófico consistió en formular una síntesis entre la ontología fenomenológica de Heidegger y el materialismo dialéctico de Marx. La tesis que defenderemos aquí es que este proyecto sigue siendo vigente, pero tomaremos como referente la fenomenología de Husserl, desde la que interpretaremos los textos de Marcuse, y no la ontología existencial de Heidegger.
Scholarship and practice
(2016)
How can I as an international lawyer, conscious that international law is deeply implicated in today’s global injustices and that the course of history will not be changed by any grand legal design, practice law responsibly? Taking as a point of departure my own desire not to seek comfort in the formulation of a critique of law, but to aspire to a responsible practice, I consult two quite different bodies of work: first, critical theory of law and second, recent scholarship on international law that argues a practice guided by ethics may enhance the legitimacy of international law. I turn then to my own practice of international economic law focusing on my occasional role as legal expert on the so-called megaregionals the EU aims to conclude with Canada and the United States. I propose that the debate on international economic law lacks an investigation into the role of law in shaping political economy; that this lack can be explained by the compartmentalization of expertise which leads to justification gaps with respect to projects such as the megaregionals. One way how lawyers can assume responsibility is to work on closing these gaps even if it means leaving the ‘inside’ of the legal discipline. Finally, I suggest that a responsible legal practice of social change might follow Roberto Unger’s call for institutional imagination. Maybe I can satisfy my wish for a transformative practice by joining forces with friends in experimenting with institutions, hoping to build an alternative political economy.
The Adornian theories are still a relevant theoretical and educational model, even fifty years after his death. The article develops exactly this aspect in many directions and it lingers on one of the masterpieces of the master of Frankfurt, Minima moralia, making use of hermeneutic critical thinking.
Mediante una serie de diferenciaciones analíticas reconstruyo y presento la estructura elementaldel proyecto de teoría crítica desarrollado por Axel Honneth, quien es consideradohoy el representante más destacado de la tercera generación de la Escuela de Fráncfort. Enel marco de dicha reconstrucción, especifico el lugar que ocupa el esfuerzo de Honnethpor reactualizar el concepto lukácsiano de reificación en clave de teoría del reconocimiento.Afirmo que dicho esfuerzo está guiado por la tarea que se ha propuesto Honnethde dotar a su proyecto intelectual de una veta de crítica de la racionalidad instrumental;una veta propia a la mencionada tradición pero para cuyo tratamiento Honneth hasta ahíno había desarrollado una conceptualización adecuada.