ABSTRACT
William James proclaimed that pragmatism is the future of philosophy. Some philosophers believe that they should strive above all else not so much to produce concepts or make life more significant but rather to hold true beliefs, assert true propositions, and write books filled with truth. Critical theory, which once seemed promising, lies dead because the moment to miss it was realized. The summary judgment that it had really grounded criticism of the world, that confidence in reason in the face of relativism and reification had justified itself, becomes a mistaken optimism of reason after the attempt to change criticism of the world miscarried. Dialectics, Theodor Adorno wrote, is 'self-consciousness of the objective context of delusion; it does not mean to have escaped from that context. Its objective goal is to break out of the context from within'. To practice criticism, one must raise one's imagination and, with others, strenuously exercise one's will.
