A review of David M. Berry’s Critical Theory and the Digital (London: Bloomsbury, 2014) and Christian Fuchs’s Social Media: A Critical Introduction (London: Sage, 2014) which was published in Krisis: Journal for Contemporary Philosophy 2015, Issue 1: Pirates & Privateers.

This article retraces and discusses the philosophical itinerary of Axel Honneth, from the groundbreaking book Struggle for Recognition up to the recent essays Freedom’s Right and The Idea of Socialism. In the first section, I examine Honneth’s programmatic concept of social pathology in relation to Ernst Cassirer’s idea of the secularisation of theodicy (i. e. the attribution of responsibility for human suffering to society) and to the enlightenment legacy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In the second section, after assessing Honneth’s position in (...) the tradition of critical theory, I analyse his philosophical views. I identify two different theoretical frameworks in Honneth’s work: on the one hand, the theory of the struggle for recognition; on the other hand, the recent theory of social freedom. While the first is grounded in a formal and allegedly universal anthropology, the second draws on the Hegelian doctrine of the ethical life and develops a historicist and internalist model of reconstructive social criticism. Finally, in the third section, I critically address the “divinisation of the social” entailed in Honneth’s project of social pathologies’ critique, and argue that Honneth’s trust in the normative power of intersubjectivity might be excessive. (shrink)

This thesis explores the relationship between emancipatory politics and spirituality, and what this has to offer a critical postmodern approach to social work. At the centre of this thesis is a focus on forming a connection between critical postmodern social work theory and liberation spirituality. Liberation spirituality is a framework proposed by Joel Kovel which has at its heart connects emancipation and spirituality. My first chapter outlines my research approach. Chapter two explores the diversity and complexity of spiritual meanings, examines (...) the influence of the western context on spirituality, analyses the relationship between language and spirituality, and outlines my assumptions in relation to spirituality. Chapter three examines the historical and social context influencing social workers' engagement with spiritual issues. It also explores the engagement of current social work literature with issues of spirituality. Chapters four and five consider distinctions between critical social work in the modernist tradition, and critical postmodern social work. This establishes why critical postmodern social work approaches are more suited to engage with spiritual issues. The conceptual connection between critical postmodern social work and liberation spirituality is explored in chapter six and chapter seven. The latter in particular includes a detailed examination of the relationship between emancipatory politics and spirituality. The thesis concludes in chapter eight by analysing implications of this conceptual connection. (shrink)

We lay the foundations for a critical human ecology that combines the strengths of the biophysical human ecology tradition in environmental sociology with those of historical materialism. We show the strengths of a critically informed human ecology by addressing four key meta-theoretical issues: materialist versus idealist approaches in the social sciences, dialectical versus reductionist analyses, the respective importance of historical and ahistorical causal explanations, and the difference between structural and functional interpretations of phenomena. CHE breaks with the idealism of Western (...) Marxism, which dominated academic neo-Marxist thought in the latter half of the 20th century, and advocates instead the pursuit of a materialist, scientific methodology in dialectical perspective for the explanation of social and ecological change. In turn, this project also involves a critique of the ahistorical and functionalist tendencies of traditional human ecology, while sharing human ecology 's basic starting point: the ecological embeddedness of human societies. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine the extent to which Marcien Towa (1931-2014) can be considered the Father of Cameroonian Critical Theory. In this regard, I compare what can be called his social philosophy with the project of a critical theory of society, as outlined by Max Horkheimer (1895-1973). I specifically consider Marcien Towa’s idea of philosophy, which I confront with Horkheimer’s project from the perspectives offered by their sociopolitical premises, conceptual references, and progressive goals. On each of these aspects, I (...) discover sufficient correspondences that allow me to argue that Towa and Horkheimer, who barely knew each other, formulated a somewhat similar claim, namely to provide a critical theory of society, whose aim is not only to understand society but more importantly to change it. (shrink)

This article illustrates the less-acknowledged social construction of the concept of ‘incompetency’ and draws attention to the moral concerns it raises in health care encounters in the south Indian city of Chennai. Based on data drawn from qualitative research, this study suggests that surgeons subjectively construct the idea of incompetency through their understanding of the perceived circumstantial characteristics of the patients and family members they serve. The findings indicate that surgeons often underestimate patients and family members’ capacity based on constructed (...) assessments, which leads to paternalistic practice. In this article, I illustrate how these assessments influence the surgeons’ practices and provide the moral and practical justifications for their actions. The constructed knowledge becomes a source for drawing normative justification for surgeons’ actions and, in conjunction with socially enforced power relationships, results in patients and family members to be on the receiving end of disrespectful attitudes. Based on the data analysis and by drawing on philosophical analysis, I emphasize the need to focus on ‘respect for persons,’ to rethink the framework of ‘capacity,’ and to practice respect in hospital settings. (shrink)

RESUMO Nas obras de Thomas Mann, a doença não se coloca como um elemento simples do entrecho, mas sim como uma parte central da evolução da trama, especialmente no desenvolvimento dos personagens. No entanto, em suas obras, as figurações da saúde e da doença não são fixas, e, portanto, faz-se necessário buscar um núcleo de sentido a essas noções. Argumentamos que a contraposição fundamental entre os termos é a expressão de uma tensão entre o desenrolar da vida com suas expectativas (...) normais e uma força disruptiva que abala essa estrutura. Trata-se de desenvolver os termos dessa contraposição, apresentando algumas imagens de seus romances, a partir do que poderemos expor a dimensão crítica da doença como noção filosófica. A seguir, apresentaremos alguns momentos do romance “Doutor Fausto”, de Mann, tendo por objetivo explorar a estrutura crítica dessa noção e a forma como opera. Finalmente, tomaremos a música, um dos temas centrais do romance de Mann, como modelo para a análise dessa crítica possível. A partir disso, poderemos apresentar os o limite dessa concepção de doença como dispositivo crítico, especialmente no debate artístico do século XX. ABSTRACT In Thomas Mann’s works, illness cannot be seen as a simple plot element, but rather as a central part of the story’s evolution, especially concerning the characters’ development. However, the figurations of health and illness are not fixed and, therefore, it is necessary to seek a nucleus of meaning to these notions. We would argue that the fundamental contraposition between these terms is the expression of a tension between the unfolding of life with its normal expectations and a disruptive force that shakes this structure. It is a question of developing the terms of this contraposition, exploring some images of Mann’s novels, from which we can expose the critical dimension of illness as a philosophical concept. Then, we will present a few moments of Mann's Doctor Faust, in order to explore the critical structure of this notion and the way it operates. Finally, we will take music, one of the central themes of Mann's novel, as a model for the analysis of this possible criticism. Based on that, we can present the limits of this conception of illness as a critical device, especially within the artistic debate of the twentieth century. (shrink)

Gostaria aqui de formular o programa mais geral, contido na Dialética Negativa de Adorno, a partir de algumas perspectivas histórico-filosóficas. Na primeira parte, procuro desenvolver a ideia de que a crítica de Adorno a Hegel, compreendida como um novo enlace entre dialética e ontologia, beneficia-se da interpretação proposta por Adorno de temas da filosofia kantiana. Em seguida, procuro mostrar como Adorno conecta sua reformulação da dialética a uma compreensão de linguagem fortemente devedora de estratégias genealógicas de argumentação.

It is not easy to give up on a tradition that promises to rationalize, explain, and thereby ultimately help improve, society. This article narrates the history of Critical Theory in three stages, following the dynamics of its own self-criticism during distinct historical periods and within different societies. Horkheimer/adorno, Habermas and Honneth are read as participating in a philosophical project of societal rationalism which can be criticized by appeal to a pragmatist view of social theories, and specifically the ‘pragmatic maxim’. In (...) spite of its post-metaphysical announcements, Critical Theory overextends itself when it seeks to reconcile fully the normative and the empirical. An alternative, and more explicitly ethical and empirically controllable, scheme for critical theories (plural!) is suggested. (shrink)