Positivist Dispute in German Sociology

by Theodor W. Adorno, Hans Albert, Ralf Dahrendorf

English, German (translation)

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History

307 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno was one of the most important philosophers and social critics in Germany after World War II. Although less well known among anglophone philosophers than his contemporary Hans-Georg Gadamer, Adorno had even greater influence on scholars and intellectuals in postwar Germany. In the 1960s he was the most prominent challenger to both Sir Karl Popper's philosophy of science and Martin Heidegger's philosophy of existence. Jürgen Habermas, Germany's foremost social philosopher after 1970, was Adorno's student and assistant. The scope of Adorno's influence stems from the interdisciplinary character of his research and of the Frankfurt School to which he belonged. It also stems from the thoroughness with which he examined Western philosophical traditions, especially from Kant onward, and the radicalness to his critique of contemporary Western society. He was a seminal social philosopher and a leading member of the first generation of Critical Theory.

Unreliable translations hampered the initial reception of Adorno's published work in English speaking countries. Since the 1990s, however, better translations have appeared, along with newly translated lectures and other posthumous works that are still being published. These materials not only facilitate an emerging assessment of his work in epistemology and ethics but also strengthen an already advanced reception of his work in aesthetics and cultural theory.

Reviews

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful if you're interested in one German Philosopher

Hans Albert

Born 8 February 1921 Cologne, Rhine Province, Prussia, Germany
Died 24 October 2023

Era Contemporary philosophy
Region Western philosophy

School Analytic philosophy - Critical rationalism

Main interests

Philosophy of social science,
Philosophy of science
Epistemology
Rationality
Uncertainty
Justificationism

Notable ideas

Application of critical rationalism to social and political theory
Münchhausen trilemma

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Hans Albert (8 February 1921 – 24 October 2023) was a German philosopher. He was professor of social sciences at the University of Mannheim from 1963, and remained at the university until 1989.

His fields of research were social sciences and general studies of methods.

He was a critical rationalist, paying special attention to rational heuristics.

Albert was a strong critic of the continental hermeneutic tradition coming from Heidegger and Gadamer.

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Authors
Adorno, Dahrendorf, Habermas, Pilot, and Popper

The Positivist Dispute in German Sociology
Harper Torchbook 1976

[skoteinos_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Très intéressante confrontation entre les tenants d'une sociologie positiviste-scientiste et ceux de la Théorie critique. On dispose d'une édition française de ce recueil, intitulée : "De Vienne à Francfort, la querelle allemande des sciences sociales".