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Immanent Critique

Titus Stahl

When we criticize social institutions and practices, what kinds of reasons can we offer for such criticism? Political philosophers often assume that we must rely on universal moral principles that are not necessarily connected to the particular social practices of our communities. Traditionally, continental critical theory has rejected this claim through its endorsement of the method of immanent critique. Immanent critique is a critique of social practices that draws on norms already present within these practices to demand social change, rather than merely conservatively reproducing them. Titus Stahl defends the claim that such a critique is not only possible, but also has politically powerful potential. Taking up recent developments in analytic enquiry into collective intentionality theory and in the philosophy of language, he argues that all social practices rest on structures of mutual recognition between persons that allow social theorists to reconstruct hidden norms present within these practices. Starting from a comprehensive critique of contemporary critical theory, Immanent Critique also spells out the consequences of this line of thought for the practice of social critique, for the social sciences and for political philosophy.

The translation of this work was funded by Geisteswissenschaften International – Translation Funding for Humanities and Social Sciences from Germany, a joint initiative of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the German Federal Foreign Office, the collecting society VG WORT and the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publisher & Booksellers Association)

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / Rowman & Littlefield International

Pages: 356 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-78660-179-7 • Hardback • November 2021 • $120.00 • (£92.00)

978-1-78660-181-0 • eBook • November 2021 • $41.50 • (£35.00)

Series: Essex Studies in Contemporary Critical Theory

Subjects: Philosophy / Movements / Critical Theory, Philosophy / Political, Philosophy / Social

Immanent Critique

Hardback

eBook

Summary

When we criticize social institutions and practices, what kinds of reasons can we offer for such criticism? Political philosophers often assume that we must rely on universal moral principles that are not necessarily connected to the particular social practices of our communities. Traditionally, continental critical theory has rejected this claim through its endorsement of the method of immanent critique. Immanent critique is a critique of social practices that draws on norms already present within these practices to demand social change, rather than merely conservatively reproducing them. Titus Stahl defends the claim that such a critique is not only possible, but also has politically powerful potential. Taking up recent developments in analytic enquiry into collective intentionality theory and in the philosophy of language, he argues that all social practices rest on structures of mutual recognition between persons that allow social theorists to reconstruct hidden norms present within these practices. Starting from a comprehensive critique of contemporary critical theory, Immanent Critique also spells out the consequences of this line of thought for the practice of social critique, for the social sciences and for political philosophy.

The translation of this work was funded by Geisteswissenschaften International – Translation Funding for Humanities and Social Sciences from Germany, a joint initiative of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the German Federal Foreign Office, the collecting society VG WORT and the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publisher & Booksellers Association)

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / Rowman & Littlefield International

Pages: 356 • Trim: 6½ x 9

978-1-78660-179-7 • Hardback • November 2021 • $120.00 • (£92.00)

978-1-78660-181-0 • eBook • November 2021 • $41.50 • (£35.00)

Series: Essex Studies in Contemporary Critical Theory

Subjects: Philosophy / Movements / Critical Theory, Philosophy / Political, Philosophy / Social

Author

Titus Stahl is assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Groningen, Netherlands.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the English Translation
1. Introduction
2. Social Critique
3. Interpretation and Immanent Critique
4. Immanent Critique and the Critical Theory of Society
5. Collective Intentionality
6. Norms and Social Practices
7. The Immanent Norms of Social Practices
8. The Possibility of Immanent Critique
9. The Critique of Reification
10. Conclusion: Social Conflict and Social Hope
Bibliography
Index

Reviews

With "Immanent Critique", Titus Stahl succeeded in providing an impressive analysis of the conditions and potentials of immanent critique […] convincingly uncovering the social ontological and linguistic conditions of possibility for immanent critique and thereby provides a broader methodological foundation for critical theory.

— Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung (Journal of Philosophical Research)

Immanent Critique

Titus Stahl

Immanent Critique

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