Frankfurtian contributions in the Brazilian political framework: reception, actuality, (im)pertinence

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to introduce some contributions of authors belonging to the Critical Theory of Society to the current political discussion. The text is organized around four axes: 1) the intertwinings between ideology, socioeconomic structure and personality/character aspects – pointing out and justifying, under an interdisciplinary perspective, and with the contribution of Psychology, tendencies towards on a latent fascism in the contemporary societies; 2) how a reading that opposes critical theory to action theory became a factor for a particular reception of the Critical Theory of Society in Brazil, in the second half of the twentieth century; 3) presentation of critical studies on the technological mediations of experience, emphasyzing the political, social, cultural, and psychological aspects affected by the diffusion of mass and/or digital media; 4) a brief exposition of the most recent generations of theoretical-critical authors, focusing on their theoretical movements, as well as some of the main controversies underlying the works of Habermas, Honneth and feminists authors such as Nancy Fraser, Judith Butler and Seyla Benhabib.