Critical theory that identifies reason with domination cannot justify its own critique

Evidence

Hence the ‘performative contradiction’ which Habermas discovers in Dialec­ tic of Enlightenment as well as in the Nietzschean critique of modernity (see section 3.4 above): how can Horkheimer and Adorno continue to practise a critical theory of society when reason itself is identified with the urge to dominate? — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism, 380

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the ‘performative contradiction’ Habermas finds in Dialectic of Enlightenment and Nietzschean critique.
• XREF: connects to: Scientific neutrality is itself metaphysical and masks domination — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 43; Rational counter-arguments fail against anti-Semitism rooted in domination — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 126; Critical Theory claims to cure philosophy only from outside its own boundaries — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 288 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Fundamental critique of a system cannot arise from within that system #corroborates (0.82) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 133
• Postmodernism theory cannot produce a stable inside-outside position for its own observers #corroborates (0.80)
• Critical Theory claims to cure philosophy only from outside its own boundaries #qualifies (0.75) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 288
• Positivist philosophy imposes an empirical a priori that cannot be transcended #corroborates (0.75) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 671