Consistent social theory requires an object with the potential for rational realization

Evidence

The fact that the authors were presenting individual observations instead of a theory of society of the sort conceived by Dialectic of Enlightenment' was perhaps not merely the result of their biographical circumstances or their own weakness, but lay in the nature of the thing itself, the condition of society. Consistent theory presupposes, in the consistency and discreteness of its object, the potential effectuation of those impulses which, by transcending prevailing conditions, animate theoretical conceptions as a matter distinct from mere facts.’ The fact that a `rational social whole’ was nowhere in sight reduced the scope for conclusive theory. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 592

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Horkheimer’s argument that the impossibility of consistent theory is itself a product of the social condition inverts the usual diagnosis of intellectual failure — theory’s crisis is an index of the world’s lack of a rational whole.
• XREF: Connects directly to Dialectic of Enlightenment’s thesis that the administered world forecloses the totalizing thought it once demanded. — connects to: Rationalist-universalists hold political theory can establish one universally valid good regime — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 289; Rationality in social theory attaches to systems and functions, not individual decisions — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 308; Technical rationality makes irrational social control appear reasonable and rational — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 124 (+9 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Rationalist-universalists hold political theory can establish one universally valid good regime — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 289; Rationality in social theory attaches to systems and functions, not individual decisions — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 308; Technical rationality makes irrational social control appear reasonable and rational — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 124 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Rationality in social theory attaches to systems and functions, not individual decisions #complicates (0.78) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 308
• Scientific rationalism becomes an instrument of social domination #complicates (0.77) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 141
• What appears objective social necessity is only a transitory phase of class rule #complicates (0.76) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 814
• Technical rationality makes irrational social control appear reasonable and rational #complicates (0.75) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 124
• Defining rationality to include symmetry strips the theory of empirical content #complicates (0.75) — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 650
• Positivist sociology borrows natural-science criteria and lacks the dialectical principle #complicates (0.73) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1524
• Reified social wholes are objective forces that decide individual existence #complicates (0.72) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 735