The Frankfurt School
Initiated in 1923 and originally housed in the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany, the Frankfurt School is best known for its critique of positivism and its development of a critical approach to social theory. Frankfurt School theorists became pessimistic about the history of reason (with its emphasis on rationality rather than human needs) after witnessing the horrors of World War II. As a result, they began to critique reason and instrumental rationality (e.g., Weber), attempting to “reveal the unreason at the heart of what passed for reason” (McCarthy, 1996, p. 115). Frankfurt School thinkers drew upon the fundamental Marxist critique of modern industrial society but wanted to de-emphasize its positivistic tendencies and shift the focus to social instead of economic critique. The critical theory of the Frankfurt school developed a new notion of reason, involving critique and transformative action. Frankfurt School theorists include Horkheimer, Fromm, Marcuse, Adorno, and Habermas.
Reading Online, www.readingonline.org
Posted April 2001
© 2001 International Reading Association, Inc. ISSN 1096-1232