ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the discussion of how a Lebensgefuhl may evolve into a fundamental philosophical principle, and will also take a closer look at the various problems with regard to substance, paths, and the developmental process of that Lebensgefuhl. Of all the members of the Frankfurt School, Horkheimer had the least to say about problems relating to aesthetics. The indebtedness of Horkheimer and of the whole school to the basic ideas of German idealism is common knowledge. Horkheimer clearly saw the similarities in that he characterized the nineteenth century as a less wretched one than the preceding or following ones. After having commented on the similarities, Horkheimer turns his attention to the differences. By distancing himself from the Goethean position, Horkheimer clearly demonstrates the differences between the situation in which a thinker finds himself and the position taken by him.
