Critical Theory makes transcending existing society a sociologist’s professional duty

Evidence

So, too, he now used a general circumlocution which opened up an unimpeded vista compared with rigid and dogmatic left-wing theoretical positionswhile also sounding melodious and non-committal in establishment ears. At the end of his speech, Horkheimer expressed the basic intention of Critical Theory in a way that transformed social change into a kind of ethical requirement for sociologists, like the Hippocratic Oath for doctors: When I speak of the broader points of view that must be linked to individual studies, what I mean is that in every question that arises, indeed in the sociological attitude itself, there is always an implicit intention to transcend existing society. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 469

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the book-so-far claim that Critical Theory proceeds from hope and makes sociologists unpopular; this is Horkheimer’s clearest statement of the professional-ethical core. — connects to: Critical theory must analyze industrialized society as a whole rather than rank power blocs — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 684; Critical social theory is inherently a hopeful project of transcending existing society. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1903; Critical theory’s concepts aim to terminate in actual social transformation — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 89 (+5 more)
• DEFINE: Defines the ‘basic intention’ of Critical Theory as an implicit intention to transcend existing society embedded in every sociological question.
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Critical theory must analyze industrialized society as a whole rather than rank power blocs — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 684; Critical social theory is inherently a hopeful project of transcending existing society. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1903; Critical theory’s concepts aim to terminate in actual social transformation — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 89 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Critical social theory is inherently a hopeful project of transcending existing society. #corroborates (0.92) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1903
• Academic canonization may domesticate critical theory’s radical edge #complicates (0.80) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 30
• The next generation of German sociologists rejected critical theory’s historical mode #complicates (0.74) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 496