Arnold Farr | University of Kentucky (original) (raw)
Papers by Arnold Farr
Perspectivas em Diálogo: Revista de Educação e Sociedade, Jun 17, 2023
The purpose of the article is to examine some of the weaknesses of critical theory with regard to... more The purpose of the article is to examine some of the weaknesses of critical theory with regard to race and gender, as well as to critique the limitations of critical theory stemming from its ethnocentrism. In it the author argues for a return to the deeper engagement with the breadth of contemporary social, political, and emancipatory theories and movements as seen in the first generation of the Frankfurt School. As a case in point, he shows that Angela Davis' omission from the history of critical theory indicates the degree to which even critical theory is haunted by racism, ethnocentrism, and sexism. These shortcomings of critical theory make it necessary to revisit critical theory once again, carrying forward the provocation made by Nancy Fraser in her essay entitled "What's Critical About Critical Theory?". As a result of the argument, the author suggests that a new critical theory, which brings Herbert Marcuse and Angela Davis into contact with other recent theories, would lead to more fruitful forms of critical theory PERSPECTIVAS EM DIÁLOGO: Revista de Educação e Sociedade
![Research paper thumbnail of [Book Review] Richard Rorty. Objectivity, Relativism and Truth . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/119932339/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 1992
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 1996
In the twentieth century reason has become an object of interrogation and suspicion. Reason is no... more In the twentieth century reason has become an object of interrogation and suspicion. Reason is no longer simply accepted as an infallible authority or as the highest court of appeal, but rather, it has become suspect as a force of domination and oppression, and as a system of distorted communication. If reason is taken to be oppressive rather than emancipatory, what then is the status of theory, and how do we judge or justify any moral or ethical position? Can we justify any appeal to reason at all? These questions constitute the central themes of this issue of disC/osure and the texts by Bernstein, and Hoy and McCarthy. By reading these authors against each other, we should be able to see what is at stake in the reassessment of theory and reason. The interrogation of reason in the twentieth century has probably received its greatest momentum from critical theory. The status of reason, theory, and critical theory is debated by Hoy and McCarthy in Critical Theory. In Part One McCarthy examines the task of critical theory and both the use and critique of reason. In Part Two Hoy assesses the status of critical theory and attempts to fuse critical theory with a Foucaultian critical history. Hoy and McCarthy provide rejoinders to each other in Part Three.
Escritos
Abordaré la crítica de Axel Honneth a la primera Escuela de Frankfurt y su aparente omisión de He... more Abordaré la crítica de Axel Honneth a la primera Escuela de Frankfurt y su aparente omisión de Herbert Marcuse. Defenderé a Marcuse contra algunas de las críticas hechas por Honneth a la teoría crítica temprana de la Escuela de Frankfurt. Luego argumentaré que Marcuse siempre estuvo en busca de una subjetividad radical, incluso cuando advirtió contra los mecanismos unidimensionales en curso de producción de sujetos. Finalmente, mostraré que Honneth también construye su proyecto en torno a la búsqueda de una subjetividad radical, pero aborda el problema a través de una teoría de la intersubjetividad que complementa el proyecto de Marcuse.
The present article departs from concepts and ideas thoroughly developed by Herbert Marcuse. As s... more The present article departs from concepts and ideas thoroughly developed by Herbert Marcuse. As such, it deals with his approach concerning the possibility of social transformation, looking to problematize the obstacles and hardships associated to the ongoing forms of social domination. To take this through, central works such as Eros and civilization and One-dimensional man are taken up, along with a number of lesser known texts and posthumously published reflections. Asserting the influence of Hegel, Marx and Freud, it is considered possible to criticize some of the existing contradictions that mark capitalist relations, interpreting them dialectically and immanently to unveil the potentials for social change through democratic attunement.The present article departs from concepts and ideas thoroughly developed by Herbert Marcuse. As such, it deals with his approach concerning the possibility of social transformation, looking to problematize the obstacles and hardships associated t...
Tempo Social
The present article departs from concepts and ideas thoroughly developed by Herbert Marcuse. As s... more The present article departs from concepts and ideas thoroughly developed by Herbert Marcuse. As such, it deals with his approach concerning the possibility of social transformation, looking to problematize the obstacles and hardships associated to the ongoing forms of social domination. To take this through, central works such as Eros and civilization and One-dimensional man are taken up, along with a number of lesser known texts and posthumously published reflections. Asserting the influence of Hegel, Marx and Freud, it is considered possible to criticize some of the existing contradictions that mark capitalist relations, interpreting them dialectically and immanently to unveil the potentials for social change through democratic attunement.
What White Looks Like, 2004
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 1996
In the twentieth century reason has become an object of interrogation and suspicion. Reason is no... more In the twentieth century reason has become an object of interrogation and suspicion. Reason is no longer simply accepted as an infallible authority or as the highest court of appeal, but rather, it has become suspect as a force of domination and oppression, and as a system of distorted communication. If reason is taken to be oppressive rather than emancipatory, what then is the status of theory, and how do we judge or justify any moral or ethical position? Can we justify any appeal to reason at all? These questions constitute the central themes of this issue of disC/osure and the texts by Bernstein, and Hoy and McCarthy. By reading these authors against each other, we should be able to see what is at stake in the reassessment of theory and reason. The interrogation of reason in the twentieth century has probably received its greatest momentum from critical theory. The status of reason, theory, and critical theory is debated by Hoy and McCarthy in Critical Theory. In Part One McCarthy examines the task of critical theory and both the use and critique of reason. In Part Two Hoy assesses the status of critical theory and attempts to fuse critical theory with a Foucaultian critical history. Hoy and McCarthy provide rejoinders to each other in Part Three.
![Research paper thumbnail of [Book Review] Richard Rorty. Objectivity, Relativism and Truth . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/119932388/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 1992
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 1997
aul Taylor was invited to the University of Kentucky to give a lecture and seminar on the general... more aul Taylor was invited to the University of Kentucky to give a lecture and seminar on the general topics of race, racism and racial(ised) politics in the US. His lecture, entitled "The New Negro" discussed philosophical issues related to the politics of identity and argued for the retention of race as a political category. Paul Taylor was invited to the University of Kentucky to give a lecture and seminar on the general topics of race, racism and racial(ised) politics in the U.S. His lecture, entitled "The New Negro" discussed philosophical issues related to the politics of identity and argued for the retention of race as a political category. Taylor is currently an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Kentucky, and a member of the Affrilachian Poets, a Lexington-based writer's collective. He did his undergraduate work at Morehouse College and his graduate work at Rutgers University (under the tutelage of Peter Kivy, Howard McGary, and Corne! West). At present he is working on a critique of various philosophical accounts of race, preparing to publish chapters from his dissertation (which explores the implications of John Dewey's aesthetic theory for philosophical aesthetics and cultural studies), and assembling a collection of poetry and short fiction with the other Affrilachians. In this interview we sought to explore Taylor's pragmatist perspective on the constitutive relations between experience and social identity, the "New Negro" and the contemporary politics of race, including the recently conducted "Million Man March" in Washing-" \I
Herbert Marcuse believed that the development of a society that is free of oppression, domination... more Herbert Marcuse believed that the development of a society that is free of oppression, domination, and surplus repression required the development of a “new sensibility”. That is, he believed that the human instinctual structure would have to be radically modified. This is possible insofar as the human instinctual or drive structure often reflects the present organization of society. This chapter explores the possibility of developing this new sensibility by rethinking it through the lenses of intersectionality and democratic attunement. The theory of intersectionality discloses the ways in which multiple forms of oppression are intertwined and how they coexist in one and the same individual. Intersectionality opens up a space for the deconstruction of identities that have been formed within oppressive social structures. This deconstruction allows for the possibility of what the author calls democratic attunement. The chapter claims that Marcuse’s concept of the new sensibility can ...
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 2016
Communities of Peace, 2011
Radical Philosophy Review, 2015
Current Perspectives in Social Theory
Just like in mainstream society, types of academic discourse seem to go in and out of fashion. We... more Just like in mainstream society, types of academic discourse seem to go in and out of fashion. We are now in a moment when it seems that the critical theory of the Frankfurt School has little to offer. The son of one of the prominent members of the Frankfurt School even said to me ''My father's main thesis in One-Dimensional Man is that our society is inherently irrational. How does one revive such work in such an irrational time?'' (Conversation with Peter Marcuse, November 2005.) My response was that in these irrational times such a work is most relevant. Although we are in a very different era than that which gave birth to critical theory, and the structure of our society in some ways seems radically different than that in which critical theory began, things are perhaps not all that different. The failure to change society for the better-that is, to make it less oppressive-is not due to the failure of early critical theory, but rather, it reflects the failure to realize the vision of critical theory and the willingness to abandon critical theory too quickly. Although critical theory is a
Fichte and the Phenomenological Tradition, 2010
Perspectivas em Diálogo: Revista de Educação e Sociedade, Jun 17, 2023
The purpose of the article is to examine some of the weaknesses of critical theory with regard to... more The purpose of the article is to examine some of the weaknesses of critical theory with regard to race and gender, as well as to critique the limitations of critical theory stemming from its ethnocentrism. In it the author argues for a return to the deeper engagement with the breadth of contemporary social, political, and emancipatory theories and movements as seen in the first generation of the Frankfurt School. As a case in point, he shows that Angela Davis' omission from the history of critical theory indicates the degree to which even critical theory is haunted by racism, ethnocentrism, and sexism. These shortcomings of critical theory make it necessary to revisit critical theory once again, carrying forward the provocation made by Nancy Fraser in her essay entitled "What's Critical About Critical Theory?". As a result of the argument, the author suggests that a new critical theory, which brings Herbert Marcuse and Angela Davis into contact with other recent theories, would lead to more fruitful forms of critical theory PERSPECTIVAS EM DIÁLOGO: Revista de Educação e Sociedade
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 1992
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 1996
In the twentieth century reason has become an object of interrogation and suspicion. Reason is no... more In the twentieth century reason has become an object of interrogation and suspicion. Reason is no longer simply accepted as an infallible authority or as the highest court of appeal, but rather, it has become suspect as a force of domination and oppression, and as a system of distorted communication. If reason is taken to be oppressive rather than emancipatory, what then is the status of theory, and how do we judge or justify any moral or ethical position? Can we justify any appeal to reason at all? These questions constitute the central themes of this issue of disC/osure and the texts by Bernstein, and Hoy and McCarthy. By reading these authors against each other, we should be able to see what is at stake in the reassessment of theory and reason. The interrogation of reason in the twentieth century has probably received its greatest momentum from critical theory. The status of reason, theory, and critical theory is debated by Hoy and McCarthy in Critical Theory. In Part One McCarthy examines the task of critical theory and both the use and critique of reason. In Part Two Hoy assesses the status of critical theory and attempts to fuse critical theory with a Foucaultian critical history. Hoy and McCarthy provide rejoinders to each other in Part Three.
Escritos
Abordaré la crítica de Axel Honneth a la primera Escuela de Frankfurt y su aparente omisión de He... more Abordaré la crítica de Axel Honneth a la primera Escuela de Frankfurt y su aparente omisión de Herbert Marcuse. Defenderé a Marcuse contra algunas de las críticas hechas por Honneth a la teoría crítica temprana de la Escuela de Frankfurt. Luego argumentaré que Marcuse siempre estuvo en busca de una subjetividad radical, incluso cuando advirtió contra los mecanismos unidimensionales en curso de producción de sujetos. Finalmente, mostraré que Honneth también construye su proyecto en torno a la búsqueda de una subjetividad radical, pero aborda el problema a través de una teoría de la intersubjetividad que complementa el proyecto de Marcuse.
The present article departs from concepts and ideas thoroughly developed by Herbert Marcuse. As s... more The present article departs from concepts and ideas thoroughly developed by Herbert Marcuse. As such, it deals with his approach concerning the possibility of social transformation, looking to problematize the obstacles and hardships associated to the ongoing forms of social domination. To take this through, central works such as Eros and civilization and One-dimensional man are taken up, along with a number of lesser known texts and posthumously published reflections. Asserting the influence of Hegel, Marx and Freud, it is considered possible to criticize some of the existing contradictions that mark capitalist relations, interpreting them dialectically and immanently to unveil the potentials for social change through democratic attunement.The present article departs from concepts and ideas thoroughly developed by Herbert Marcuse. As such, it deals with his approach concerning the possibility of social transformation, looking to problematize the obstacles and hardships associated t...
Tempo Social
The present article departs from concepts and ideas thoroughly developed by Herbert Marcuse. As s... more The present article departs from concepts and ideas thoroughly developed by Herbert Marcuse. As such, it deals with his approach concerning the possibility of social transformation, looking to problematize the obstacles and hardships associated to the ongoing forms of social domination. To take this through, central works such as Eros and civilization and One-dimensional man are taken up, along with a number of lesser known texts and posthumously published reflections. Asserting the influence of Hegel, Marx and Freud, it is considered possible to criticize some of the existing contradictions that mark capitalist relations, interpreting them dialectically and immanently to unveil the potentials for social change through democratic attunement.
What White Looks Like, 2004
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 1996
In the twentieth century reason has become an object of interrogation and suspicion. Reason is no... more In the twentieth century reason has become an object of interrogation and suspicion. Reason is no longer simply accepted as an infallible authority or as the highest court of appeal, but rather, it has become suspect as a force of domination and oppression, and as a system of distorted communication. If reason is taken to be oppressive rather than emancipatory, what then is the status of theory, and how do we judge or justify any moral or ethical position? Can we justify any appeal to reason at all? These questions constitute the central themes of this issue of disC/osure and the texts by Bernstein, and Hoy and McCarthy. By reading these authors against each other, we should be able to see what is at stake in the reassessment of theory and reason. The interrogation of reason in the twentieth century has probably received its greatest momentum from critical theory. The status of reason, theory, and critical theory is debated by Hoy and McCarthy in Critical Theory. In Part One McCarthy examines the task of critical theory and both the use and critique of reason. In Part Two Hoy assesses the status of critical theory and attempts to fuse critical theory with a Foucaultian critical history. Hoy and McCarthy provide rejoinders to each other in Part Three.
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 1992
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 1997
aul Taylor was invited to the University of Kentucky to give a lecture and seminar on the general... more aul Taylor was invited to the University of Kentucky to give a lecture and seminar on the general topics of race, racism and racial(ised) politics in the US. His lecture, entitled "The New Negro" discussed philosophical issues related to the politics of identity and argued for the retention of race as a political category. Paul Taylor was invited to the University of Kentucky to give a lecture and seminar on the general topics of race, racism and racial(ised) politics in the U.S. His lecture, entitled "The New Negro" discussed philosophical issues related to the politics of identity and argued for the retention of race as a political category. Taylor is currently an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Kentucky, and a member of the Affrilachian Poets, a Lexington-based writer's collective. He did his undergraduate work at Morehouse College and his graduate work at Rutgers University (under the tutelage of Peter Kivy, Howard McGary, and Corne! West). At present he is working on a critique of various philosophical accounts of race, preparing to publish chapters from his dissertation (which explores the implications of John Dewey's aesthetic theory for philosophical aesthetics and cultural studies), and assembling a collection of poetry and short fiction with the other Affrilachians. In this interview we sought to explore Taylor's pragmatist perspective on the constitutive relations between experience and social identity, the "New Negro" and the contemporary politics of race, including the recently conducted "Million Man March" in Washing-" \I
Herbert Marcuse believed that the development of a society that is free of oppression, domination... more Herbert Marcuse believed that the development of a society that is free of oppression, domination, and surplus repression required the development of a “new sensibility”. That is, he believed that the human instinctual structure would have to be radically modified. This is possible insofar as the human instinctual or drive structure often reflects the present organization of society. This chapter explores the possibility of developing this new sensibility by rethinking it through the lenses of intersectionality and democratic attunement. The theory of intersectionality discloses the ways in which multiple forms of oppression are intertwined and how they coexist in one and the same individual. Intersectionality opens up a space for the deconstruction of identities that have been formed within oppressive social structures. This deconstruction allows for the possibility of what the author calls democratic attunement. The chapter claims that Marcuse’s concept of the new sensibility can ...
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 2016
Communities of Peace, 2011
Radical Philosophy Review, 2015
Current Perspectives in Social Theory
Just like in mainstream society, types of academic discourse seem to go in and out of fashion. We... more Just like in mainstream society, types of academic discourse seem to go in and out of fashion. We are now in a moment when it seems that the critical theory of the Frankfurt School has little to offer. The son of one of the prominent members of the Frankfurt School even said to me ''My father's main thesis in One-Dimensional Man is that our society is inherently irrational. How does one revive such work in such an irrational time?'' (Conversation with Peter Marcuse, November 2005.) My response was that in these irrational times such a work is most relevant. Although we are in a very different era than that which gave birth to critical theory, and the structure of our society in some ways seems radically different than that in which critical theory began, things are perhaps not all that different. The failure to change society for the better-that is, to make it less oppressive-is not due to the failure of early critical theory, but rather, it reflects the failure to realize the vision of critical theory and the willingness to abandon critical theory too quickly. Although critical theory is a
Fichte and the Phenomenological Tradition, 2010