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Herbert Marcuse

Political Philosophy

Herbert Marcuse was a German and American philosopher, social critic and political theorist associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Born in Berlin in 1898, he studied under Martin Heidegger before becoming a prominent figure at the Institute for Social Research. During the 1960s and 1970s Marcuse emerged as a leading intellectual voice for the New Left and student activism in West Germany, France and the United States, drawing on Marxist thought to examine how capitalism, modern technology, Soviet communism and popular culture function together as mechanisms of social control. His best known works are Eros and Civilization, published in 1955, and One-Dimensional Man, published in 1964, both of which shaped the radical intellectuals and activists of the era and left a lasting mark on Western left-wing political philosophy.

Facts
Birth Year
1898 1
Defining Moment
Became known in the 1960s and 1970s as the pre-eminent theorist of the New Left and the student movements of West Germany, France and the United States, at times called the Father of the New Left. 1
Birth Date
1898-07-19 1
Notable Publication
One-Dimensional Man (1964) 1
Office Held
Professor, Brandeis University, 1954 to 1965; professor, University of California, San Diego, 1965 to 1970; earlier taught at Columbia University and Harvard University 1
Death Year
1979 1
Death Date
1979-07-29 1
Birthplace
Berlin, German Empire 1
Death Place
Starnberg, West Germany 1
Tradition
Frankfurt School critical theory; Western Marxism; Continental philosophy 1
Classification
Nationality
Germany 1
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Herbert Marcuse (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Biography > Early years (birth year)
    Marcuse was born July 19, 1898, in Berlin, to Carl Marcuse and Gertrud Kreslawsky.
  • Biography > Early years (birth date)
    Marcuse was born July 19, 1898, in Berlin, to Carl Marcuse and Gertrud Kreslawsky.
  • Biography > Early years (birthplace)
    Marcuse was born July 19, 1898, in Berlin, to Carl Marcuse and Gertrud Kreslawsky.
  • Biography > Death (year)
    he suffered a stroke and died on July 29, 1979, ten days after his eighty-first birthday.
  • Biography > Death (date)
    he suffered a stroke and died on July 29, 1979, ten days after his eighty-first birthday.
  • Biography > Death (place)
    to visit the Max Planck Institute for the Study of the Scientific-Technical World in Starnberg, where he had delivered lectures and participated in discussions from 1974 to 1979
  • Introduction, paragraph 3
    The best-known works of Herbert Marcuse are Eros and Civilization (1955) and One-Dimensional Man (1964).
  • Introduction, paragraph 2
    In the 1960s and the 1970s, he became known as the pre-eminent theorist of the New Left and the student movements of West Germany, France, and the United States; some consider him "the Father of the New Left".
  • Career section
    Marcuse worked at Brandeis University from 1954 to 1965, then at the University of California, San Diego from 1965 to 1970.
  • Introduction, paragraph 1
    was a German and American philosopher, social critic, and political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory.
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