I’ve been reading a bit about Critical Theory to try to better understand the implications of its recent rise in prominence in both education and the news. (Not enough to make me any kind of expert.) The application of Critical Theory we hear about most is called Critical Race Theory, but Critical Theory can be applied to almost any area of human relations. I have limited my studies to older writings to avoid contamination by the current zeitgeist.
Being academics, the writers use a lot of words and talk around the subject, but over the course of several paragraphs of gobbledygook it seems they all agree that the purpose of Critical Theory is implementing social change. They contrast this with Traditional Theory which has the sole purpose of understanding and explaining. In other words (mine, not theirs) Critical Theory involves making activism appear to be academic inquiry. There are multiple versions of Critical Theory with wide variation in the application of each, to the point that it becomes hard to say what, exactly, is and isn’t Critical Theory much beyond the use of theories to implement change.
The application of Critical Theory need not necessarily be leftist; activists of any political stripe could use its methods to promote their agendas. One common method of applying Critical Theory seems to begin by identifying a desired change, and then developing philosophies (theories) to justify the change. Directed research may be used to develop evidence to support the theories. Finally, existing institutions are used to disseminate those theoretical justifications to their target audience. As Critical Theory was introduced by Karl Marx and then expanded-upon by a group of communist scholars commonly called the Frankfurt School, many applications have been based around Marx’s oppressor/oppressed dichotomy, with the oppressors and the oppressed being identified prior to development of the theories.
Some critical theorists suggest that the purpose of Critical Theory should not be to implement any particular change, but only to introduce information to the public for discussion within a democratic environment so the people can decide for themselves what changes are needed. Others favor using Critical Theory to elicit public support for implementation of specific predetermined changes.
The subject of Critical Theory deserves much more discussion and I hope to learn more about it and write about it again someday.
Posted 2023/06/06
Interesting. Thanks for teaching me something new.