Critique
Jurian Traas
FW-WB3930
2023 – 2024
,Table of Contents
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION TO GERMAN CRITICAL THEORY...........................................................................2
CONTEXT..............................................................................................................................................................2
AXEL HONNETH.....................................................................................................................................................2
LECTURE 2: HABERMAS.................................................................................................................................. 3
LINGUISTIC TURN....................................................................................................................................................4
COMMUNICATIVE ACTION........................................................................................................................................5
Micro level (formal pragmatics)......................................................................................................................5
DISCOURSE............................................................................................................................................................6
Macro level......................................................................................................................................................6
LECTURE 3: FOUCAULT................................................................................................................................... 6
INSTITUTIONS.........................................................................................................................................................6
ARCHEOLOGICAL METHOD........................................................................................................................................7
GENEALOGY.......................................................................................................................................................... 8
ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS...........................................................................................................................................9
ETHOS OF A PERMANENT CRITIQUE OF OUR HISTORICAL ERA...........................................................................................9
LECTURE 4: THE FOUCAULT-HABERMAS DEBATE.......................................................................................... 10
ENLIGHTENMENT..................................................................................................................................................10
DISCOURSE & DEMOCRACY.....................................................................................................................................11
Foucault's Perspective...................................................................................................................................11
Habermas' Perspective..................................................................................................................................11
LECTURE 5: LATOUR’S CRITICAL ZONE........................................................................................................... 12
DECONSTRUCTING MATTERS OF FACT.......................................................................................................................12
DEVELOPMENT OF ACTOR-NETWORK THEORY.............................................................................................................13
POSTCRITICAL PERIOD............................................................................................................................................13
THE CRITICAL ZONE..............................................................................................................................................15
LECTURE 6: TENTACULAR THINKING WITH DONNA HARAWAY......................................................................15
SITUATED KNOWLEDGE..........................................................................................................................................15
STAYING WITH THE TROUBLE...................................................................................................................................16
LECTURE 7: POSTCOLONIAL CRITIQUE.......................................................................................................... 18
DECOLONIZATION AND POSTCOLONIALISM.................................................................................................................18
POSTCOLONIAL STUDIES.........................................................................................................................................18
Gayatri Spivak...............................................................................................................................................19
Achille Mbembe.............................................................................................................................................19
Cornel West...................................................................................................................................................19
Edward W. Said.............................................................................................................................................20
LECTURE 8: FEMINIST CRITICAL THEORY?..................................................................................................... 21
HISTORY OF FEMINISM.......................................................................................................................................... 21
FEMINIST CRITIQUES OF CRITIQUE............................................................................................................................21
Nancy Fraser..................................................................................................................................................21
Amy Allen.......................................................................................................................................................22
COMBAHEE RIVER COLLECTIVE................................................................................................................................22
1
Notes by Jurian Traas – Critique
, Lecture 1: Introduction to German Critical Theory
Critical theory can be understood in the narrow sense, which we do by studying the
Frankfurt school, and its three relevant generations of theorists. In a broader sense, we can
study what it means to practice or do critical theory.
Some of the key elements of critical theory is that it focusses on our material conditions
(materialism), which it takes from Marx. Moreover, it is emancipatory in that it aims to work
towards positive freedoms. So, there is always some practical conclusion to critical theory,
one of changing the circumstances rather than a mere analysis or change of thinking
regarding our circumstances.
Context
why did the Frankfurt school exist? The answer is all these factors:
Historical: The end of WW1, interbellum & WWII
Cultural & economical: Hollywood & the market crash
Philosophical: The complete evisceration of Marxism and German conservatism
Political: The hegemony of liberalism, rising antisemitism and the emergence of
Nazism/Communism
This then causes a collective disappointment.
Die Frankfurter Schule
The 2nd, and most important director of the Frankfurt school was Max Horkheimer, who
brought in a network of important thinkers, either directly employed or closely affiliated.
Two of their founding documents became the Dialectik der Aufklärung, and Traditional and
Critical Theory. Critical theory is not a science like the empirical science. Its aim is to establish
immanent (to act from within) forms of social theory: to re(construct) the norms and values
of society. As such, it is not aimed at knowledge as an objective product.
In Dialectic of enlightenment, Odysseus is introduced as the first bourgeois man. Odysseus is
as a completely rationally man aware for example of some siren songs that would drive him
mad. The central thesis here is that enlightenment is a myth, in that it conceals the
operations that it needs to be an emancipatory project. Thus, it is already exclusionary,
hiding its own violence. This established itself in different ways economically and culturally,
when the hope for humanity is crushed by a new form of barbarism: rationality becomes
exploitation and art becomes business.
Axel Honneth
In his A Social Pathology of Reason: On the Intellectual Legacy of Critical Theory, Axel
Honneth delves into several key points and arguments:
Honneth examines the intellectual legacy of critical theory, which is a philosophical tradition
rooted in the Frankfurt School. This tradition seeks to analyze and critique the underlying
social, political, and economic structures that give rise to inequality and oppression.
Social-theoretical negativism in Axel Honneth's work refers to his critical stance towards
existing social structures and norms. It involves a skeptical or pessimistic view of the current
2
Notes by Jurian Traas – Critique
Jurian Traas
FW-WB3930
2023 – 2024
,Table of Contents
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION TO GERMAN CRITICAL THEORY...........................................................................2
CONTEXT..............................................................................................................................................................2
AXEL HONNETH.....................................................................................................................................................2
LECTURE 2: HABERMAS.................................................................................................................................. 3
LINGUISTIC TURN....................................................................................................................................................4
COMMUNICATIVE ACTION........................................................................................................................................5
Micro level (formal pragmatics)......................................................................................................................5
DISCOURSE............................................................................................................................................................6
Macro level......................................................................................................................................................6
LECTURE 3: FOUCAULT................................................................................................................................... 6
INSTITUTIONS.........................................................................................................................................................6
ARCHEOLOGICAL METHOD........................................................................................................................................7
GENEALOGY.......................................................................................................................................................... 8
ENLIGHTENMENT IDEAS...........................................................................................................................................9
ETHOS OF A PERMANENT CRITIQUE OF OUR HISTORICAL ERA...........................................................................................9
LECTURE 4: THE FOUCAULT-HABERMAS DEBATE.......................................................................................... 10
ENLIGHTENMENT..................................................................................................................................................10
DISCOURSE & DEMOCRACY.....................................................................................................................................11
Foucault's Perspective...................................................................................................................................11
Habermas' Perspective..................................................................................................................................11
LECTURE 5: LATOUR’S CRITICAL ZONE........................................................................................................... 12
DECONSTRUCTING MATTERS OF FACT.......................................................................................................................12
DEVELOPMENT OF ACTOR-NETWORK THEORY.............................................................................................................13
POSTCRITICAL PERIOD............................................................................................................................................13
THE CRITICAL ZONE..............................................................................................................................................15
LECTURE 6: TENTACULAR THINKING WITH DONNA HARAWAY......................................................................15
SITUATED KNOWLEDGE..........................................................................................................................................15
STAYING WITH THE TROUBLE...................................................................................................................................16
LECTURE 7: POSTCOLONIAL CRITIQUE.......................................................................................................... 18
DECOLONIZATION AND POSTCOLONIALISM.................................................................................................................18
POSTCOLONIAL STUDIES.........................................................................................................................................18
Gayatri Spivak...............................................................................................................................................19
Achille Mbembe.............................................................................................................................................19
Cornel West...................................................................................................................................................19
Edward W. Said.............................................................................................................................................20
LECTURE 8: FEMINIST CRITICAL THEORY?..................................................................................................... 21
HISTORY OF FEMINISM.......................................................................................................................................... 21
FEMINIST CRITIQUES OF CRITIQUE............................................................................................................................21
Nancy Fraser..................................................................................................................................................21
Amy Allen.......................................................................................................................................................22
COMBAHEE RIVER COLLECTIVE................................................................................................................................22
1
Notes by Jurian Traas – Critique
, Lecture 1: Introduction to German Critical Theory
Critical theory can be understood in the narrow sense, which we do by studying the
Frankfurt school, and its three relevant generations of theorists. In a broader sense, we can
study what it means to practice or do critical theory.
Some of the key elements of critical theory is that it focusses on our material conditions
(materialism), which it takes from Marx. Moreover, it is emancipatory in that it aims to work
towards positive freedoms. So, there is always some practical conclusion to critical theory,
one of changing the circumstances rather than a mere analysis or change of thinking
regarding our circumstances.
Context
why did the Frankfurt school exist? The answer is all these factors:
Historical: The end of WW1, interbellum & WWII
Cultural & economical: Hollywood & the market crash
Philosophical: The complete evisceration of Marxism and German conservatism
Political: The hegemony of liberalism, rising antisemitism and the emergence of
Nazism/Communism
This then causes a collective disappointment.
Die Frankfurter Schule
The 2nd, and most important director of the Frankfurt school was Max Horkheimer, who
brought in a network of important thinkers, either directly employed or closely affiliated.
Two of their founding documents became the Dialectik der Aufklärung, and Traditional and
Critical Theory. Critical theory is not a science like the empirical science. Its aim is to establish
immanent (to act from within) forms of social theory: to re(construct) the norms and values
of society. As such, it is not aimed at knowledge as an objective product.
In Dialectic of enlightenment, Odysseus is introduced as the first bourgeois man. Odysseus is
as a completely rationally man aware for example of some siren songs that would drive him
mad. The central thesis here is that enlightenment is a myth, in that it conceals the
operations that it needs to be an emancipatory project. Thus, it is already exclusionary,
hiding its own violence. This established itself in different ways economically and culturally,
when the hope for humanity is crushed by a new form of barbarism: rationality becomes
exploitation and art becomes business.
Axel Honneth
In his A Social Pathology of Reason: On the Intellectual Legacy of Critical Theory, Axel
Honneth delves into several key points and arguments:
Honneth examines the intellectual legacy of critical theory, which is a philosophical tradition
rooted in the Frankfurt School. This tradition seeks to analyze and critique the underlying
social, political, and economic structures that give rise to inequality and oppression.
Social-theoretical negativism in Axel Honneth's work refers to his critical stance towards
existing social structures and norms. It involves a skeptical or pessimistic view of the current
2
Notes by Jurian Traas – Critique
