This article was written on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt am Main, where the Frankfurt School was founded and continues to evolve. From philosophical and interdisciplinary perspectives, the article focuses on the trichotomic characteristics of critical theory, specifically: critique, explanation, and normativity. It looks first at the founding of the Institute for Social Research; second, at the emergence of critical theory at the Institute; and third, at how these ideas evolved. It (...) identifies trichotomy underpinning Horkheimer’s approach to critical theory. In the conclusion, the revisions made to critical theory in the later stages of development are considered. (shrink)

This article emphasises the relevance of Adorno’s concept of nature for contemporary debates in critical theory about the relationship between nature and society. Adorno identifies a twofold danger for a critical understanding of our relationship to nature. While the first is in the development of a mythical vision of nature, the second is in the development of a purely instrumental relationship to nature, which considers nature as an entity radically heterogeneous to social issues. Against this backdrop, Adorno develops his own (...) concept of nature which can be described as negative and minimal. (shrink)

Presentation to the translation of Max Horkheimer's "On the Sociology of Class Relations".

Danes smo priča nenavadni vsesplošni vrnitvi stare napetosti znotraj levičarskih politik: neznanskemu teoretskemu preporodu marksističnih kategorij in ekonomskih analiz, a brez vsakršnega ugodja, ki ga spremlja vročična aktivistična politična kultura zasedb, »flash mobov« in nemirov. Raje kot da bi se oziral k zaprašenemu panteonu običajnih osumljencev in njihovih konfliktov, bo pričujoči esej na površje pripeljal bolj produktiven deleuzovski »in…in…« psevdopar, Roso Luxemburg in Emmo Goldman, zato da bi ugotovil, kaj lahko njuno sopostavljanje ponudi sodobnim razpravam in nesoglasijem. V središču pozornosti (...) bo razpravljanje o ugodju – fizičnemu, estetskemu, seksualnemu – kot ga lahko razberemo v njunem pisanju, kot tudi strukturnemu razmerju med le-tem in revolucionarnimi politikami kot načinom življenja. Esej si poskuša zamisliti trajnostni levičarski vir »uma plus užitka«, ki zmore misliti proti kapitalu, hkrati s tem, ko ohranja brezpogojne zahteve posplošenega libidinalnega upora. Rosa + Emma = smrt levemu puritanizmu! (shrink)