Andrew Bowie

Geschichte und Eigensinn

It is no longer possible to consider Critical Theory a unified project. Yet, the differing approaches within the Frankfurt School continue to influence contemporary theoretical debates in spite of the fact that Habermas and his pupils have shifted their focus towards more conventional academic disciplines — although Habermas’ own writings often preserve the synthetic breadth which characterized the Schools earlier work. Still, the emphatic questioning of Western rationality, as in Dialectic of Enlightenment and Negative Dialectics, is becoming increasingly the preserve of post-structuralism. At the same time, Adornos insistence on the possibility of rationality has been forgotten, while the limitations of negative dialectics are also affecting deconstruction.