Por um conhecimento sincero no mundo falso: Teoria Crítica, pesquisa social empírica e The Authoritarian Personality

Abstract

The present PhD dissertation discusses the relationship between the Critical Theory of Society and empirical social research as elaborated in the work of the Institute of Social Research of Frankfurt, particularly after 1931, during the period in which it was under the direction of Max Horkheimer. Thus, it investigates to what extent such a nexus considered part of this theory s immanent coherence can be found in the research carried out in the United States and published as The Authoritarian Personality. The first chapter is dedicated to the reconstruction of Horkheimer s notion of interdisciplinary materialism. The discussion is based on his inaugural lecture as the Institute director, and on his essays published during the 1930s. In the second chapter, the main empirical social research projects carried out by the Institute members, in Germany and in the United States, are presented. The third chapter is dedicated to Theodor W. Adorno, his critique of Sociology and his views about the accomplishment of empirical research in the scope of Critical Theory. The last chapter is dedicated to an analysis of The Authoritarian Personality, seeking connections between the theory and procedures and instruments, and also between theoretical elaborations on their results.