Horkheimer believed only his small circle could sustain the slow work of philosophy.

Evidence

Philosophy is a very slow process and I don’t see anybody apart from ourselves with the right tradition, experience and love which would justify the great practical risks involved in the sticking to [sic] such an undertaking during these days. When I returned from my trip, I had a particularly good feeling about the theoretical progress we could make in the near future, and this feeling was confirmed by what you had done in the meantime. In this new draft, I recognized our common spirit and I felt that we would now be able to gather results of our endeavours of the last year. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 322

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Frames Critical Theory as a fragile collaborative tradition requiring rare shared commitment — the institutional precondition for the whole school.
• APHORISMS: ‘Philosophy is a very slow process’ reads as genuine counsel about intellectual patience.