Horkheimer’s Traditional and Classical Theor

“What is a theory?” In the work of Horkheimer, Traditional and Critical Theory (1937), one finds an attempt to delineate the concept of “theory” in simplistic terms. However a simple this task may seem within contemporary science, Horkenheimer swiftly illustrated the vast complexities herewith associated. In his work, Horkenheimer establishes a strong distinction between the different concepts of “theory”, highlighting the two spheres of Critical and Traditional theory.

The concept of Traditional theory takes on a distant position in which the subject and the object relevant to the situation exist separately (such as an individual and society), in that the object of cognition regarding the situation becomes a separated thought, and the role of the “Savant” that of an unbiased observer, viewing the world only through its present state. Traditional theory encompasses a deductive approach, favoring mathematics and natural sciences.

In contrast to Traditional theory, one finds the role of the observer and the object being interpreted differently. Critical theory views both the subject and the object as being part of social praxis, in that their function and meanings are socially performed and constructed, and not separate from one another, or open for unbiased observation. As such, the purpose of Critical theory is the attempt to emancipate and delineate the social realities and theories that seek to explain them. The core concept of Critical Theory can be best explained as a form of social theory focused on changing and assessing society in its totality, whereas Traditional theory is more orientated towards the explanation or understanding of society.

The concept of Critical theory encompasses two key aspects, the first being that it ought to be orientated towards society through a holistic and historical perspective, and secondly that it ought to improve the understanding of society through the integration of the major social science fields. Traditional theory however, only seeks to study the present world at the surface as it were, ignoring the effects on the world by technological innovation.

Which theory is more appropriate to modern society? The idea within Traditional theory, that science does not recognize its presence within a wider social context ultimately leads to the “savant” not recognizing the current structural influence and change within scientific work brought on by present day capitalist society. As a result, the “savant” completely misses the suffering caused by that social structure (capitalism). Whereas Critical theory is found becoming “a human activity which has society itself for its object”(Horkheimer, DATE: 206), in that it supersedes the shortcoming of the “savant” by openly examining the manner in which theory immerses with a particular or historical setting, seeking only to critique these effects for emancipation.

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