Social theory depends on insight into society’s nature more than on specialized knowledge.

Evidence

Horkheimer was outlining a mode of thinking which moved in unfinished, complex totalities. It differed from Adorno’s programme of interpretative philosophy, not so much in the extent to which it took the various scientific disciplines seriously, as in the entirely untheological and social-historical character of the reality it was hoping to account for. Unlike metaphysical intuition, social theory did not ignore the results of specialized scientific research. But whether one possessed certain basic insights into the nature of society was more decisive than whether one did or did not possess extensive specialized knowledge. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 730

Categorization

• DEFINE: Characterizes Horkheimer’s dialectical social theory against Adorno’s interpretative philosophy.
• XREF: Connects to the theory/practice split in Critical Theory and its dispute with positivist methodology elsewhere in this history. — connects to: Fields of knowledge are constrained by society, culture, and institutional power — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 505; Comte coined ‘social physics’ to demand society be studied with natural-science precision. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 2649

Broader Connections

• Fields of knowledge are constrained by society, culture, and institutional power #qualifies (0.75) — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 505