Horkheimer attacked value-free specialist sociology as a failure in the fight against totalitarianism.

Evidence

Horkheimer had emphasized that, if sociology failed to concern itself with the fate of the whole, if it failed to fulfil its task of allowing society to reflect on itself' in the light of its purposethe correct form of human co-existence’then it would fail in the struggle against the totalitarian world, which threatens the European world both from without and from within'. König was bound to see this as a reference to himself, since he rejected precisely what Horkheimer was demanding, on the grounds that it was no longer appropriate to a pure’, specialist sociology. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 595

Categorization

• XREF: Horkheimer’s charge against ‘pure’ specialist sociology matches the Frankfurt School’s broader critique of positivism as uncritical instrumental reason. — connects to: Horkheimer rejected empirical sociology’s pseudo-exact method as servile to funders. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1700; Frankfurt theorists and pure sociologists accused each other of totalitarian tendencies. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2403; Horkheimer defined sociology’s task as society reflecting on itself against totalitarianism. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 595
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Horkheimer rejected empirical sociology’s pseudo-exact method as servile to funders. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1700; Frankfurt theorists and pure sociologists accused each other of totalitarian tendencies. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2403; Horkheimer defined sociology’s task as society reflecting on itself against totalitarianism. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 595