In this paper I analyze the development of Max Horkheimer's viewpoint on the connection between psychology and critical social theory through the 1930s writings. Firstly, I argue that the role of psychology cannot be reduced to a mere application of psychological categories to social and political phenomena, and that psychology has, instead, a structural function in the definition of Critical theory as a theory of the "psychic mediations" of social reproduction. Secondly, I maintain that while psychoanalysis (and the notion of "character" in particular) remains Horkheimer's main psychological reference, the explanation of the harmony between systemic functional requirements and individual behaviour involves non-psychoanalytic psychological concepts, such as "habit" and "schematism", that allude to deeper and unfathomable operations of the mind. Thirdly, I emphasize that Horkheimer's insight into authoritarianism is way more focused on the non-personal, objective authority of the given social order (and on the spontaneous trust of social agents in that order), rather than on the personal authority of political leaders.
Carattere, abitudine, schematismo. Il ruolo della psicologia nel pensiero politico e sociale di Max Horkheimer / Micaloni, L. - In: LO SGUARDO. - ISSN 2036-6558. - 31(2020), pp. 77-97. [10.5281/zenodo.5018517]
Carattere, abitudine, schematismo. Il ruolo della psicologia nel pensiero politico e sociale di Max Horkheimer
Micaloni, L
2020
Abstract
In this paper I analyze the development of Max Horkheimer's viewpoint on the connection between psychology and critical social theory through the 1930s writings. Firstly, I argue that the role of psychology cannot be reduced to a mere application of psychological categories to social and political phenomena, and that psychology has, instead, a structural function in the definition of Critical theory as a theory of the "psychic mediations" of social reproduction. Secondly, I maintain that while psychoanalysis (and the notion of "character" in particular) remains Horkheimer's main psychological reference, the explanation of the harmony between systemic functional requirements and individual behaviour involves non-psychoanalytic psychological concepts, such as "habit" and "schematism", that allude to deeper and unfathomable operations of the mind. Thirdly, I emphasize that Horkheimer's insight into authoritarianism is way more focused on the non-personal, objective authority of the given social order (and on the spontaneous trust of social agents in that order), rather than on the personal authority of political leaders.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.