About
Max Horkheimer, born on February 14, 1895, in Stuttgart into a wealthy Jewish family, is a central figure of the Frankfurt School. After studies in Munich, Frankfurt, and Freiburg, he earned his doctorate in 1922 and his habilitation in 1925. In 1930, he became professor of social philosophy and director of the Institute for Social Research, which he turned into a hub of critical theory. Exiled in the United States from 1933, he wrote with Theodor Adorno the Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944/1947) and published Eclipse of Reason (1947). Returning to Frankfurt in 1949, he reopened the Institute and taught until his retirement. He died in 1973 in Nuremberg.
* 1895-02-14 — † 1973-07-07
Major works
- Dialektik der Aufklärung (1944)philosophical essay
- Eclipse of Reason (1947)philosophical essay
- Traditionelle und kritische Theorie (1937)essay
Key milestones
- 1930Appointed professor of social philosophy and director of the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt.
- 1933After the Nazi seizure of power, he relocated the Institute to Geneva and then to New York.
- 1949Return to Frankfurt and reopening of the Institute in 1950.
Themes
Critical theoryInstrumental reasonCulture industryEmancipationDialectic of Enlightenment
Sources: britannica.com · philpapers.org