Horkheimer held that society’s irrationality itself foreclosed a consistent theory of society.

Evidence

The fact that the authors were presenting individual observations instead of a theory of society of the sort conceived by Dialectic of Enlightenment' was perhaps not merely the result of their biographical circumstances or their own weakness, but lay in the nature of the thing itself, the condition of society. Consistent theory presupposes, in the consistency and discreteness of its object, the potential effectuation of those impulses which, by transcending prevailing conditions, animate theoretical conceptions as a matter distinct from mere facts.’ The fact that a `rational social whole’ was nowhere in sight reduced the scope for conclusive theory. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2388

Categorization

• QUESTION: This inversion — that the theoretical deficit lies in the object’s condition, not the theorist — is worth probing: is this a genuine philosophical claim or an elegant rationalization of exhaustion?
• XREF: connects to: Horkheimer blamed society’s irrational structure for the retreat from systematic theory — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2388

Broader Connections

• Horkheimer blamed society’s irrational structure for the retreat from systematic theory #corroborates (0.93) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2388