What is critical theory?

Critical theory originally derived from Marxist perspectives, but has moved away from Marxism to develop a particular set of viewpoints on culture and society. Critical Theory dates back well over fifty years with Horkheimer's 1946 text, Traditional and Critical Theory. Originally, critical theory referred to the work of those within what was known as the 'Frankfurt School' (Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse). Subsequently, critical theory has influenced a range of sociologists and philosophers, not least of all Habermas. Within the field of education, critical theory has influenced many writers who work within the area of critical pedagogy: Michael Apple, Paulo Freire, and Henry Giroux, Bell Hooks, Jonathan Kozol.

Critical theory is interdisciplinary: it draws its theoretical influences from disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, sociology, history, linguistics and economics. Critical theory was originally conceived to move away from the over-rationalisation found in the scientific method, with its attempts at objectivity and valued emphasis on neutral findings. Instead, critical theory accepts subjectivity and the personal perspective, concentrating on how people are disempowered politically, socially and culturally and how best they can be empowered. However, we will see that Habermas' theory of communicative action, while emphasising the individual's role in communication, does move somewhat away from the relevance of subjectivity towards an attempt to define rules of communication that will allow us to judge truthfulness and validity in what is said.

The concept of individual empowerment is central to critical theory. Empowerment comes through the individual's critical reflection on social and cultural relations. Social systems serve the interests of specific power groups or institutions: without an understanding of how these power relations work, and how they subjugate the individual, people will remain disempowered. Through critical thought, and action, individuals can challenge dominant power relations.