Horkheimer equated his own theoretical person with the Foundation’s social-theory purpose

Evidence

In Horkheimer’s view, it was possible to meet the requirements of the Weil Foundation’s statutes without actually having an institute. As an extreme measure, he imagined transforming the Institute `into a foundation offering four or five private research contracts … Running an institute is by no means required by the Foundation’s statutes. On the contrary, it is purely a matter of promoting social theory.’ Since Horkheimer ultimately saw Weil’s Foundation as the material basis for promoting a theory of society of which he himself was the principal incarnation, the use of the Foundation for shared purposes on a united basis was impossible. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1087

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Horkheimer treated the Weil Foundation as his personal vehicle for social theory — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1087; Horkheimer conceived the Institute as a homogeneous group defined by shared attitudes — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 435; Weil’s endowment politics created Horkheimer’s social philosophy chair — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 147

Broader Connections

• Horkheimer treated the Weil Foundation as his personal vehicle for social theory #corroborates (0.95) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1087
• Horkheimer conceived the Institute as a homogeneous group defined by shared attitudes #expands (0.75) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 435