From: jyacc!sparks!hleung-AT-uunet.uu.net (H. Curtiss Leung)
Subject: HAB: Frankfurt School and Science
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 95 11:13:17 EDT


Hi!

On the subject of the Frankfurt School and science, Rod writes:

>
> >, Habermas sought to validate his through critique of science.
> >
> >A couple of small points.  Though I agree that history should be used when 
> >one analysizes anything, in this case I think your correlation of  
> >using science or
> >not viz. the bomb is a bit off.  Habermas was trained by members of the
> >Frankfurt school, all of who had throughly critized science as an "abnormal
> >form of discourse",
> 
> **This is interesting, is there a reference for this quote please? I was
> not aware that there was complete consensus by all the school.
> 

	I'm curious too.  How did, for example, Adorno and Horkheimer square 
this stance with the programmatic statements in the introduction to 
_Dialetic_ _of_ _Enlightenment_ (i.e., Englightenment is essential to
social freedom)?  Also, some of the fragments at the end of that work
suggest an affinity for the natural sciences, especially what we'd call
today evolutionary biology.  I understood their position to be a critique
of the instrumental use of science; as a product of the enlightenment, science
contains the seeds of its instrumental abuse, but reflection on this
"recidivist" tendency can neutralize this.

	Am I off the mark (possibly _way_ off)?  Did they change their 
position?  Is this a debated point of interpretation?  Thanks!

-- 
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