A incorporação da psicanálise na dialética do esclarecimento de Theodor W. Adorno e Max Horkheimer

Abstract

Along the lines of Marxist studies in social philosophy that emerged in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, Theodor W. Adorno (1903 - 1969) and Max Horkheimer (1895 - 1973) made their mark on Critical Theory, starting from an articulation between various disciplines in their studies of culture and society. The purpose of this study is an attempt to understand psychoanalysis as a constituent discipline in the work of these German social critics, with a focus on the Dialectic of Enlightenment (1947). This endeavour requires a glimpse at the first steps of the psychoanalysis incorporation during the 1930s, which anticipated later theoretical developments. Considering this proposal, the work is presented in two chapters with the aim of: (1) calculating Freud's first reception for the Institute for Social Research – especially by Horkheimer – emphasizing the emergence of psychoanalysis as the history’s auxiliary science and the character studies; and (2) an exploration of Adorno’s critiques of those applications and the Institute’s split with Erich Fromm, aiming to unveil the anthropological roots of domination in Dialectic of Enlightenment, exploring the condition of helplessness underlying reason at the tension between myth and Enlightenment. Ultimately, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the interdisciplinary framework of Dialectic of Enlightenment, proposing as its working hypothesis the centrality of Freudian theory within its materialist approach to a philosophy of history. More specifically, it traces the evolving role of psychoanalysis in Critical Theory from the 1930s to the 1940s, culminating in the formulation of the critique of instrumental reason.