Abstract

For those who have been impressed or perplexed by the phenomenon of Marcuse, this collection of essays helps us to understand and reconstruct his own intellectual development. Most of the essays were written in the years from 1934 to 1938 when Marcuse had emigrated to the United States, and they were originally published in German in the Zeitschrift fur Sozialforschung. The influence of Hegel and Marx are strong, and the revulsion with the betrayal of German existentialism is evident. The essay "Philosophy and Critical Theory," helps to clarify the type of theoretical activity which Marcuse thinks of himself as practicing. "The Concept of Essence" is perhaps the clearest statement one will find in Marcuse of what he means by "essence" and how it is supposed to serve as a standard for negations. In "On Hedonism," we discover what Marcuse means by happiness and its relevance for critical theory. These early essays are much more philosophical than Marcuse's later writings and do lay bare both the strengths and weaknesses of his critical theory. An unpublished essay "Aggressiveness in Advanced Industrial Society" is included as well as Marcuse's review of Norman O. Brown's Love's Body. The forward presents Marcuse view of these essays from a contemporary perspective.--R. J. B.