Critical theory is, in my opinion, best defined by Marx(1843), as the ‘self-clarification of struggles and wishes of the age’, a general applicable definition that does not take into consideration a specific historical time, place or political problem. In order to talk about critical theory and its genuinely critical features I believe it is essential to make a clear distinction between critical theories and scientific theories. According to Frankfurt School there are 3 main categories of differences: aims and goals, logical and cognitive structure and evidence used to determine acceptance. Firstly, scientific theories have as their aim the successful manipulation of the external world by instrumental use (Geuss,1981), while critical
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A Critical Theory should be explanatory because it has to provide a certain description about what is wrong with the current social reality the individual encounters. This is where the practical feature necessity is pointed out: in order for an individual to make a change regarding the social reality, the theory needs to indicate the actors that are able to change it. But no change can take place if there is no normative basis for it. This means that the theory should provide clear norms for criticism as well as the goals for a social transformation. One criteria without the other will lead to a non-critical …show more content…
Emancipation is seen as the process that sets free the individual from legal, social or political manipulation. In order to reach emancipation, the facts that are presented by the critical theory have to be understood, by the use of each individual’s beliefs and epistemic principles, in the terms of the circumstances that gave them birth; this concepts should not be taken as given, because otherwise it leads again to false
A Critical Theory should be explanatory because it has to provide a certain description about what is wrong with the current social reality the individual encounters. This is where the practical feature necessity is pointed out: in order for an individual to make a change regarding the social reality, the theory needs to indicate the actors that are able to change it. But no change can take place if there is no normative basis for it. This means that the theory should provide clear norms for criticism as well as the goals for a social transformation. One criteria without the other will lead to a non-critical …show more content…
Emancipation is seen as the process that sets free the individual from legal, social or political manipulation. In order to reach emancipation, the facts that are presented by the critical theory have to be understood, by the use of each individual’s beliefs and epistemic principles, in the terms of the circumstances that gave them birth; this concepts should not be taken as given, because otherwise it leads again to false