Horkheimer’s 1951 reopening speech abandoned the empirical research program of 1931

Evidence

In 1931 Horkheimer had spoken of the new, challenging and important task of using a great empirical research apparatus to solve the problems of social philosophy. In contrast, he now praised some of his young associates, and continued, `We can only hope that fresh blood of this sort will very soon make us, the older ones, superfluous here and send us back to philosophy.’ — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1906

Categorization

• XREF: The contrast between Horkheimer’s 1931 programmatic empiricism and his 1951 withdrawal echoes Adorno’s later turn toward negative dialectics; also resonates with the general post-war retreat from American-style empirical sociology in the Institute. — connects to: Frankfurt empirical research on family and authority ceased entirely by the late 1930s — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1025; The Frankfurt School’s promised empirical program quietly collapsed by the late 1930s — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1025; The Institute abandoned empirical research at the end of the 1930s — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1035 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Horkheimer’s contempt for systematic empirical analysis undermined collaboration with Kirchheimer #corroborates (0.78) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 976