Abstract

The publication of Timothy J. Lukes's The Flight into Inwardness and C. Fred Alford's Science and the Revenge of Nature marks a new stage in the development of Marcuse studies. In the early eighties, four books attempted to explicate Marcuse's entire life's work. To the extent that this formidable task was placed in a larger intellectual context, Marcuse's work was understood as part of the attempt to establish philosophical foundations for contemporary critical Marxism, particularly the critical Marxism of the Frankfurt School. Lukes and Alford adopt a new approach. Each author examines the genesis and implications of a single theme from Marcuse's work: Lukes looks at art and Alford at science.