ABSTRACT
The Frankfurt School of Critical Theory was and is a diverse intellectual phenomenon which has ranged over many fields, many decades, and two continents. Critical Theory was to restore to Marxism the fullness of the dialectic of subjectivity and objectivity by incorporating psychology, aesthetics, and the critique of ideology so as to explore both the preconditions and fetters of praxis. The predominant approach the Frankfurt School took to the question of the relationship between theory and praxis was to conceive of theory, and especially critique and negation, as an integral component of viable praxis. As yet another alternative to instrumentalism and positivism, some members of the Frankfurt School turned to art, literature, and music as forms of aesthetic praxis. Thus the Frankfurt School combined an ongoing concern about the relation between theory and praxis with an increasingly pronounced pessimism concerning the possibilities of concrete political action.
