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Thus, the Frankfurt School is an important point in the history of critical thinking that allowed the development of social theories. Content Index: Historical context Features Main thinkers and works Frankfurt School and Critical Theory Frankfurt School and Cultural Industry Frankfurt School and Communication Frankfurt School currently Historical context The Frankfurt School and the idea of building a “critical theory” emerged from the need to review Marx's ideas. The communist revolution had not yet taken place – on the contrary: there was a rise of Nazism – which made researchers revise Marxist theory in this new reality. The Frankfurt School appears on February 3, 1923 with the aim of uniting theory and practice in the contemporary world. Initially, she had quite different orientations, preoccupied with economic, political, social and philosophical issues. In 1931, when Max Horkheimer it enters the direction of the Institute, it begins to define itself in the field of social philosophy. Main features of the Frankfurt School Although the Frankfurt School authors produced varied theories and interpretations about society, they were guided by some common ground. Check out some of the shared features below: Review of Marxism: Frankfurt School authors depart from Marxism to review and critique the weaknesses of that theory; that is, Marx's ideas are not abandoned, but are updated for today's society. Review: to be critical, in this context, means the relationship of theory and practice. In other words, studies about society should not produce a comfort about reality, but ideas that are transformative. Emancipation: the critique and transformation thought by the authors of the Frankfurt School must have human emancipation on the horizon. In this case, emancipation means the overcoming of capitalism in its economic and cultural aspects. Diagnosis of society: the studies of this School must have the objective of making a diagnosis of the social reality. This work must be done with the purpose of identifying the obstacles to achieving the emancipation of the capitalist system. What is the current state of capitalism? How is this system currently working? Are there any possibilities for overcoming them? Multiplicity and updating: for Frankfurt School thinkers, there is no absolute and eternal truth. This is because truths change according to social reality, and it is this that must be studied. For this reason, not even Marx's diagnoses will be true forever – they need to be updated and checked if they are applicable in reality. Thus, the theories produced by the Frankfurt School are diverse and the themes that each author is interested in are also varied. Everyone can study an aspect of social reality, capitalism, and think about the ways in which social relations are structured. Main thinkers and works Listed below are some of the thinkers who participated in the Frankfurt School and its works. We briefly present some aspects of his ideas for you to start your study of each one of them. Theodor W. Adornment Photography by Theodor AdornoAdorno was born on September 22, 1903 and was of Jewish origin. In addition to being a sociologist and one of the main representatives of the Frankfurt School, he was also a musicologist and composer. Coincidence or not, one of his main interests was in the theme of culture. The author produced a theory about the power of the cultural industry, removing the critical and emancipatory character that culture should have. The products of this large industry end up massifying culture, making it an instrument for people's conformity. You can go deeper into this theory by consulting some of his works: The Social Situation of Music, 1932: this book reveals one of the characteristics of the author, which is to choose a given aspect of culture and analyze it through critical theory. In this case, music is an important theme for Adorno. Dialectics of Enlightenment, 1944: the book is published together with Max Horkhe...