Criticism from Fantasy:

a debate between Horkheimer and Marcuse

  • Silvio Carneiro UFABC
Keywords: Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979), Max Horkheimer (1895-1973), Phantasy, Barbarism, Social Transformation

Abstract

The article analyzes the critical function of fantasy in the project of the Institute for Social Research, based on the debate between Horkheimer and Marcuse published in 1937. In "Traditional theory and Critical Theory", Horkheimer lays the foundations for the debate by understanding fantasy as a necessary resource for creating an image of the future, arising from a deep understanding of the present. In "Philosophy and Critical Theory", Marcuse comes closer to Horkheimer's premise when he states that fantasy preserves in the present time what is not yet present as a goal. Fantasy as a critical element associates the present with the future. We will investigate here the meaning of future for each of these authors regarding that they develop different perspectives on fantasy not only as as a question of foundation, but also as theoretical strategies in criticism of ideology. They are different but complementary perspectives. This is what the article seeks to understand.

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Published
2024-06-21