Habermas explicitly renewed Horkheimer’s distinction between traditional and critical theory.

Evidence

After a generation, Habermas remarked with self-assuranceconsciously placing himself in the tradition of the Frankfurt Schoolthat he was once again taking up the topic of the distinction between theory in the traditional sense, and theory in the sense of critique, that had been `the object of one of Max Horkheimer’s most important studies’. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 603

Categorization

• XREF: Links Horkheimer’s foundational traditional-vs-critical theory essay to Habermas’s generation-later revival of it.