Abstract

SALDANHA, Victor Hugo de Oliveira. A key to understand Marcuse’s essays (1937-1941). Educação e Filosofia [online]. 2023, vol.37, n.81, pp.1633-1669.  Epub Dec 31, 2023. ISSN 1982-596X.  https://doi.org/10.14393/revedfil.v37n81a2023-70309.

This paper provides a synthesis of the research entitled Autor. This research sought to identify the distinctive features of critical theory that Marcuse outlines in his 1937-1941 essays, reaching two major conclusions: 1) Marcusean theory is based on two philosophical assumptions, namely, Hegelian dialectics and Marx's critique of political economy; 2) Marcuse’s essays suggest four topics whose critique is imperative for a genuinely critical theory of capitalist society. I will try to reconstruct the textual analysis that led to the aforementioned conclusions, by analyzing the essays’ historical-philosophical context, their chief philosophical premises, and their four fundamental topics. I argue these topics constitute a kind of backbone of Marcuse's critical theory, and they provide us with an adequate key to comprehend his 1937-1941 essays.

Keywords : Critical Theory; Alienated Labor; Capitalism; Freedom; Marcuse.

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