Institute for Social Research

The early Frankfurt School's theoretical tendency is best described as Western Marxism, while its institutional origin was the Institute of Social Research (Institut für SoziaIforschung), founded in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1923. Marx's influence on the early Frankfurt School was profound, uneven, and largely filtered through a revived Hegelian Marxism that broke with the economistic and mechanistic doctrines of the Second International ( 1889-1916). From the beginning, the members and financiers of the Institute explicitly understood its research program as Marxist, although there was no general agreement about what it meant to be Marxist. A few years before the Institute's founding, Georg Lukacs wrote: "Great disunity has prevailed even in the 'socialist' camp as to what constitutes the essence of Marxism," and who has "the right to the title of , Marxist'" (Lukacs 1971: 1). The competing Marxist tendencies in the early twentieth century informed both the internal development of the Institute of Social Research and the contours of Western Marxism more generally....

In the following, I trace Marx's influence on the development of the early Frankfurt School, making explicit the Marxist dimensions of its cultural critique, its dialectical, historical, and materialist methods, as well as the role of praxis and class in its critical social theory. I begin by outlining the general characteristics of Western Marxism, before contrasting them with the deterministic doctrines of the Second International and Soviet Marxism. I then examine the Marxist heritage of the Institute of Social Research's influential and programmatic texts of the 1930s, beginning with Horkheimer's inaugural address of 1931. Although I briefly discuss the work of Institute members such as Henryk Grossmann, Leo Lowenthal, and Erich Fromm, my focus is primarily on the work of Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, and Herbert Marcuse.

Resumen:
Es mediante la apelación a algunos críticos relevantes de la modernidad –Freud, Simmel, Adorno, Horkheimer, Shestov, Müller-Hill, Kafka, etc.– que Bauman se esfuerza por construir una auténtica ontología de la modernidad, así como una fenomenología crítica de sus implicaciones culturales, morales y políticas, y de sus límites –perfilados por la presencia infranqueable de la ambivalencia–, con las que su texto adquiere el rango de una aportación señera a esta misma tradición moderna de la sospecha. Bauman, apoyado en autores como Horkheimer y Adorno, quienes realizan una crítica demoledora de la Ilustración y dejan entrever un influjo de desconfianza y pesimismo sobre buena parte de la literatura filosófica europea de la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Es Horkheimer, uno de los miembros fundadores de la Escuela de Frankfurt, quien desarrolla la “teoría critica”, a partir del predominio de una racionalidad procedimental a partir de la cual el conocimiento humano no opera según presupuestos jerárquicos-metafísicos (teoría tradicional) sino pragmático-procedimentales (teoría crítica) al interior de las comunidades científicas y de los contextos socio-culturales del mundo. Esto significa que todo modo de conocer es interesado y, que sólo conocemos por el interés. Con lo que sienta las bases de la Ecuela de la Sospecha. De allí que Bauman en Modernidad y ambivalencia4 pretendiera, como bien lo apunta Wellmer, complementar la tarea emprendida por los pensadores más destacados de la primera generación de la Escuela de Frankfurt. Bauman “intenta envolver con carne histórica y sociológica el esqueleto de la Dialéctica de la Ilustración”. Lo que dota a Bauman de una particular originalidad a la vez que de una filiciación a tradiciones filosóficas reconocibles y contrapuestas: “por un lado, la que originándose en Schopenhauer, pasa por Nietzsche para acabar alcanzando a Klages y, por otro, la que desde Hegel, pasando por Marx y Weber, arriba hasta el joven Lukács”.
Dr. Adolfo Vásquez Rocca

»Wer ist Dein Freund Axel Kluge?«, wollte Siegfried Kracauer am 10. Dezember 1962 von Theodor W. Adorno wissen, nachdem er Alexander
Kluges Erstlingswerk Lebensläufe gelesen hatte. Der 73-Jährige, der seit
dem Ende des Ersten Weltkriegs mit Adorno befreundet und im Gegensatz
zu diesem nach 1945 nicht nach Frankfurt zurückgekehrt war, zeigte sich
spürbar berührt von diesem Buch aus dem Umkreis der jungen Menschen,
die sein einstiger Schüler nun um sich versammelt hatte. Es sprach ihn an,
weil Kracauer darin Parallelen zu seiner eigenen Art des Nachdenkens und
Schreibens entdeckte, nämlich ein starkes Interesse an der gesellschaftlichen Wirklichkeit und eine emphatische Hinwendung zur Erfahrungswelt der Individuen. Das ist eine interessante Konstellation: Adornos Lehrer trifft Adornos Schüler und es werden geistige Verwandtschaften deutlich, ohne dass die Schüler bis dahin den Lehrer ihres Lehrers kannten – ob und inwiefern über die Bande Adorno gespielt oder gerade unabhängig von diesem Dritten ist die Frage.

RESUMEN
Es mediante la apelación a algunos críticos relevantes de la modernidad –Freud, Simmel, Adorno, Horkheimer, Shestov, Müller-Hill, Kafka, etc.– que Bauman se esfuerza por construir una auténtica ontología de la modernidad, así como una fenomenología crítica de sus implicaciones culturales, morales y políticas, y de sus límites –perfilados por la presencia infranqueable de la ambivalencia–, con las que su texto adquiere el rango de una aportación señera a esta misma tradición moderna de la sospecha.  Bauman, apoyado en  autores como Horkheimer y Adorno, quienes realizan una crítica demoledora de la Ilustración y dejan entrever un influjo de desconfianza y pesimismo sobre buena parte de la literatura filosófica europea de la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Es Horkheimer, uno de los miembros fundadores de la Escuela de Frankfurt,  quien desarrolla la “teoría critica”, a partir del predominio de una racionalidad procedimental a partir de la cual el conocimiento humano no opera según presupuestos jerárquicos-metafísicos (teoría tradicional) sino pragmático-procedimentales (teoría crítica) al interior de las comunidades científicas y de los contextos socio-culturales del mundo. Esto significa que todo modo de conocer es interesado y, que sólo conocemos por el interés. Con lo que sienta las bases de la Ecuela de la Sospecha. De allí que Bauman en Modernidad y ambivalencia pretendiera, como bien lo apunta Wellmer, complementar la tarea emprendida por los pensadores más destacados de la primera generación de la Escuela de Frankfurt. Bauman “intenta envolver con carne histórica y sociológica el esqueleto de la Dialéctica de la Ilustración”.5  Lo que dota a Bauman de una particular originalidad a la vez que de una filiciación a tradiciones filosóficas reconocibles y contrapuestas: “por un lado, la que originándose en Schopenhauer, pasa por Nietzsche  para acabar alcanzando a Klages y, por otro, la que desde Hegel, pasando por Marx y Weber, arriba hasta el joven Lukács”.
Dr. Adolfo Vásquez Rocca

The surging demands of a growing and increasingly affluent world population are confronting the natural world with mounting pressures. Human use of the earth's land for agriculture, forestry or infrastructure is degrading the ability of many ecosystems to deliver vital services to humanity. While modern agricultural technologies have resulted in rapid increases in yields and efficiencies, they have also caused significant and widespread negative environmental effects. Here, we aim to contribute to one of humanity's grand ...

ISER researchers compiled and reviewed existing studies and data sources relating to the economic and social viability of remote rural Alaska communities. We particularly looked for possible linkages between high fuel costs and migration. Our review indicates the following: (1) migration from smaller places toward larger places is an ongoing phenomenon that is more noticeable when birth rates drop; (2) there is no systematic empirical evidence that fuel prices, by themselves, have been a definitive cause of migration; (3) the pursuit of economic and educational opportunities appears to be a predominant cause of migration; (4) however, currently available survey data are not sufficient to definitively determine other reasons for migration, which could include concerns about public safety and/or alcohol abuse; 5) most of the survey data pre-date the latest rapid increase (2006-2008) in fuel prices. We suggest several ways that better data could be collected on community viability and ...

This paper examines school policies relating to alcohol and illicit drug use, and their associations with the prevalence of alcohol and marijuana use among students. Both "punitive" and "supportive" policies are examined. Other studies examining punitive disciplinary measures-such as close monitoring of student behavior, having various security measures, and expulsion or suspension from school-as a means of ensuring student compliance to school policies have suggested that these measures do little to reduce drug and alcohol use among students. Supportive measures, however, such as the availability of services and the presence of caregivers, may reduce the prevalence of substance use among students. Analyses use data from nationally representative samples of 8th-grade students (29,822 in 246 schools), 10th-grade students (22,964 in 212 schools), and 12th-grade students (23,594 in 226 schools) who participated in annual surveys conducted by the Monitoring the Future project from 1998 to 2001. Analyses also use data from surveys of principals of the same schools collected under the Youth, Education, and Society study, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For each of the three grades, descriptive statistics on the level of monitoring, number of security measures, severity of punitive actions taken for violation of school policies, and number of care providers and services are presented for schools with different demographic characteristics. Using multilevel logistic regression, we found that monitoring, number of security measures, and severity of consequences for violation of school policies showed little systematic association with actual substance use in general or substance use at school. Additionally, contrary to our hypothesis, schools that adopted a variety of supportive measures, such as providing more services and care providers, did not, in general, have lower average substance use than schools providing fewer such services. The implications of these findings for school policies and practices are discussed.

While current systems-based methods of organization development provide some benefit to improving the ability of organizations to reach their goals, we are continually seeking to improve the way we support our internal and external clients. This paper reports on an emerging systems-based analytical method, “Integrative Propositional Analysis” (IPA) and its use for improving the capacity of an academic research institution. This preliminary report suggests new approaches for improving the usefulness of strategic plans (to improve organizational effectiveness) and improving policy models so that the organization may better serve its external clients.

The surging demands of a growing and increasingly affluent world population are confronting the natural world with mounting pressures. Human use of the earth's land for agriculture, forestry or infrastructure is degrading the ability of many ecosystems to deliver vital services to humanity. While modern agricultural technologies have resulted in rapid increases in yields and efficiencies, they have also caused significant and widespread negative environmental effects. Here, we aim to contribute to one of humanity's grand ...

ISER researchers compiled and reviewed existing studies and data sources relating to the economic and social viability of remote rural Alaska communities. We particularly looked for possible linkages between high fuel costs and migration. Our review indicates the following: (1) migration ...

Rezensionsessay zu: Theodor W. Adorno (2019): Bemerkungen zu ‚The Authoritarian Personality‘ und weitere Texte. Herausgegeben von Eva-Maria Ziege. Berlin: suhrkamp taschenbuch wissenschaft. ISBN 978-3-518- 29900-5, € 18,00.

Rohfassung, erscheint in Zyklos 6. Jahrbuch für Theorie und Geschichte der Soziologie. Herausgeber: Endress, Martin/Moebius, Stephan.

Nel novembre 2006, in occasione del quarantesimo anniversario dell'alluvione che colpì Firenze, la città ha ospitato numerose manifestazioni -letture, convegni, mostre -con valore di memoria, testimonianza e omaggio a quanti, con il loro lavoro e la loro generosità, hanno contribuito al recupero del tessuto urbano cittadino e del suo patrimonio artistico.