The 1961 Tübingen Popper-Adorno debate failed to surface the real divide

Evidence

It is no secret that manifold differences not only in research orientation but also in theoretical position and, beyond this, differences in basic moral and political attitudes, divide the present generation of university teachers of sociology in Germany. After several discussions in recent years, it seemed as if a discussion of the logical-scientific foundations of sociology could be an appropriate way in which to make the existing differences emerge more clearly and thereby render them fruitful for research. The Tübingen working session did not however confirm this assumption. Although both symposiasts did not hesitate, in their expositions, to adopt unequivocally a definite position, the discussion generally lacked the intensity that would have been appropriate to the actual differences in views. In addition, most of the contributions to the discussion adhered so strictly to the narrow confines of the topic that the underlying moral and political positions were not expressed very clearly. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2402

Categorization

• XREF: Dahrendorf’s complaint that methodological debate masked moral-political positions echoes the ‘traditional vs critical theory’ distinction, and parallels later critiques that the positivist dispute was largely theater. — connects to: The Popper-Adorno debate turned on pessimism versus reformist optimism about social change — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2414; MPS members preferred stricter ideological policing over Popper’s open debate — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 196; Soros’s INET inherited the Popper-Hayek divide over science and open society. — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 1895

Broader Connections

• The Popper-Adorno debate turned on pessimism versus reformist optimism about social change #responds-to (0.85) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2414
• MPS members preferred stricter ideological policing over Popper’s open debate #expands (0.80) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 196
• Soros’s INET inherited the Popper-Hayek divide over science and open society. #complicates (0.72) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 1895