Horkheimer credited de Sade and Nietzsche with speaking truth about bourgeois culture

Evidence

But it was the dark prophets of the bourgeoisiede Sade and Nietzsche, above allwho in Horkheimer’s view had spoken the truth about bourgeois culture. It seemed that there was nothing left to which the critique of ideology could make an appeal. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1461

Categorization

• QUESTION: How does Horkheimer reconcile honoring de Sade and Nietzsche as truth-tellers with their misanthropy, and with the myth-grounded ideas of truth, goodness, beauty in Eclipse of Reason?
• XREF: connects to: De Sade revealed that reason cannot argue against murder. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1387; Horkheimer’s anti-metaphysics grew from Nietzsche, Dilthey and Bergson — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 205; Lukács framed Nietzsche as founder of imperialist-era irrationalism — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 137

Broader Connections

• Horkheimer’s anti-metaphysics grew from Nietzsche, Dilthey and Bergson #expands (0.85) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 205
• Lukács framed Nietzsche as founder of imperialist-era irrationalism #expands (0.80) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 137