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Schools of Philosophy

Frankfurt School

Also Known As Critical Theory
Political Philosophy

The philosophical and social-theoretical tradition that grew out of the Institute for Social Research, founded in Frankfurt in 1923 and redirected toward what its members called critical theory once Max Horkheimer became director in 1930. Fleeing Nazi Germany, the Institute relocated first to Geneva and then, from 1934, to Columbia University in New York before a further wartime move to Los Angeles, returning to Frankfurt in 1951. Its members combined Marxist social analysis with Freudian psychoanalysis and Weberian sociology to criticize ideology, mass culture and instrumental reason, with Jurgen Habermas leading a second generation from the 1960s onward.

Facts
Start Year
1923 1
Founded Date
1923-01-01 1
Region
Frankfurt, Germany; in exile 1933 to 1949-1951 chiefly Geneva, New York and Los Angeles 1
Classification
Tradition
Continental 1
Frankfurt School
Filter Results1 entry

Max Horkheimer

Frankfurt School
Connections

Associated With

Max Horkheimer, Philosophers
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Theodor W. Adorno, Philosophers
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

In Branch

Philosophy of Technology, Branches of Philosophy
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Political Philosophy, Branches of Philosophy
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Traditions Founded

Max Horkheimer, Philosophers
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Sources
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Information
  • s.v. Critical Theory
    Beginning in the 1930s at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, it is best known for interdisciplinary research that combines philosophy and social science with the practical aim of furthering emancipation.
  • entry: Frankfurt School, founding of the Institute for Social Research
    In a narrow sense, "Critical Theory" (often denoted with capital letters) refers to the work of several generations of philosophers and social theorists in the Western European Marxist tradition known as the Frankfurt School.
  • In Branch: Political Philosophy
  • In Category: Schools of Philosophy
  • Associated With: Max Horkheimer
  • Associated With: Theodor W. Adorno
  • In Branch: Philosophy of Technology, entry: Philosophy of Technology, Section 3.2.4
    One very influential stream of critical theory directly inspired by Marx is the so-called Frankfurt School born in the 1950s.
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