Episode #108 - The Frankfurt School - Introduction
The Frankfurt School - Introduction
This episode explores the philosophical undercurrents of the 20th century by framing key figures like Sartre, de Beauvoir, Nietzsche, Marx, and Camus not just as isolated thinkers but as participants in larger historical and intellectual movements. The discussion begins with Nietzsche’s famous declaration that “God is dead,” reframing it as a mournful observation about the collapse of shared sources of meaning in the wake of scientific progress. From there, it examines how this loss of moral certainty gave rise to new ideological structures—nationalism, Marxism, and existentialism—as modern people searched for meaning in an increasingly fragmented world. French existentialists emphasized individual freedom and responsibility in response to the horrors of groupthink during World War II, while the Frankfurt School sought to revise Marxism in light of its historical failures and Enlightenment’s limits. The episode ends with a reflection on Camus’ Myth of Sisyphus, proposing that meaning can be reclaimed not through abstract reflection but through deep engagement with our everyday tasks—even when they seem absurd.
Further Reading:
Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre by Walter Kaufmann (2004)
The Frankfurt School: Its History, Theories, and Political Significance by Rolf Wiggershaus (1995)
Camus and the Challenge of Political Thought: Between Despair and Hope by Patrick Hayden (2016)
See the full transcript here.
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