Criticism and captivity: on genealogy and critical theory. (Philosophical Abstracts).

Owen, David

The essay advances five claims. First, there are (at least) two logically distinct forms of self-imposed, nonphysical constraint on our capacity for self-government: being held captive by an ideology and being held captive by a picture or perspective. Second, Critical Theory as ideologiekritik is directed to freeing us from captivity to an ideology; genealogy is directed to freeing us from captivity to a picture or perspective. Third, philosophers working within the tradition of Critical Theory have typically misinterpreted genealogy as a form of ideologiekritik. Fourth, this category mistake is the product of an illicit generalization of ideological captivity as the only form of self-imposed constraint on our capacity for self-government. Fifth, once this "craving for generality" is dispelled, we are able to grasp both genealogy and Critical Theory as addressing distinct aspects of enlightenment.--Correspondence to: [email protected]