Filozofija i drustvo 2020 Volume 31, Issue 2, Pages: 220-241
https://doi.org/10.2298/FID2002220V
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Ivory tower and barricades: Marcuse and Adorno on the separation of theory and praxis
Višić Maroje
The events of 1968/69 initiated a dispute between Adorno and Marcuse over the
(alleged) separation of theory and praxis. While Marcuse “stood at the
barricades” Adorno sought recluse in the “ivory tower”. Marcuse and German
students perceived Adorno’s move as departure from fundamental postulates of
critical theory as laid down in Horkheimer’s 1937 essay. Adorno died amidst
the process of clarifying his differences with Marcuse and thus the
“unlimited discussions” between the two remain unfinished. This paper sets
to examine how both Marcuse and Adorno remained dedicated to the unity of
theory and praxis, albeit in different ways. I argue that Adorno did not
separate theory and praxis; instead, he perceived the gap between critical
theory and concrete historical situation. Adorno rejected simple and
unreflective translation of theory into praxis. Hence his attempt to
recalibrate critical theory. Marcuse’s and Adorno’s differences lie in their
different evaluation of the student movement and this (mis)evaluation was
context related. My second argument is that Marcuse/Adorno disagreement is
partly caused by the absence of the two from the concrete historical
context.
Keywords: Marcuse, Adorno, Horkheimer, Krahl, correspondence, critical theory, praxis, actionism, 1968, 1969, student movements, Frankfurt School