Renaissance of Herbert Marcuse: A Study on Present Interest iin Marcuse's Interdisciplinary Critical Theory

Maroje Visic

doi:10.7906/indecs.17.3.19

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a revival of interest in Marcuse's critical theory. This can be partly ascribed to Marcuse's interdisciplinary approach to humanities and social sciences. Many of Marcuse's ideas and concepts are tacitly present in contemporary social and ecological movements. Contemporary literature on Marcuse is positively inclined to his theory while the critique of Marcuse dates back to the '70s, and remains largely unimpaired. This fact poses significant challenges to the revival of Marcuse's critical theory. This study sets out to report on current interest in Marcuse's critical theory trying to correct past injustices by responding to negative criticism. The main flaw of such criticism - as we see it - is in failing to perceive interdisciplinary character of Marcuse's critical theory. Marcuse's renaissance cannot be complete without, to use dialectical term, sublating the history of negative criticism.

Highlights

Horkheimer, Adorno and Marcuse were among prominent representatives of the Institute for Social Research
Contemporary literature on Marcuse is positively inclined to his theory while the critique of Marcuse dates back to the ‘70s, and remains largely unimpaired
It is our belief that recent social struggles and political upheavals point to the potential of Marcuse’s critical theory to offer guide to the contemporary praxis

Summary

Introduction

Horkheimer, Adorno and Marcuse were among prominent representatives of the Institute for Social Research (commonly known as the Frankfurt School). They pioneered interdisciplinary approach to humanities and social sciences. In this article I respond to the main critical arguments and attempt to extricate some of Marcuse’s most progressive ideas from misinterpretations. This misconception is largely caused by critics’ unfamiliarity with the complete body of Marcuse’s works characterized by an interdisciplinary approach to the critical theory. Marcuse’s renaissance cannot be complete if the history of (flawed) criticism is about to repeat itself

Objectives

Conclusion