Social Philosophy Paper Topics #1
- In his seminal essay “Traditional and Critical Theory,” Horkheimer elucidates what makes a theory “critical” in contradistinction to traditional theory. Traditional theory is marked by a dualistic residue (if not substantial break) between subject/ theoretician/concepts and the objects of investigation. Particularly in the social sciences, this relation leads to passive, descriptive accounts of the world of human activity. Horkheimer calls for a “critical” theory in which the theorist acknowledges their own activity as a form of praxis in which the distinction between subject and object, theory and practice fall away. Horkheimer writes, “If the theoretician and his specific object are seen as forming a dynamic unity with the oppressed class, so the his presentation of societal contradictions is not merely an expression of the concrete historical situation but also a force within it to stimulate change, then his real function emerges.”(p. 215). In your essay, clarify the distinction between traditional and critical theory and address the main challenges to a theorizing that attempts to dissolve the divide between theory and practice. In other words, what are the central components to a “critique,” as Horkheimer contends, and how does it differ from traditional theorizing? Finally, what are the challenges to enacting such a critical praxis?
