Critical theory and utopia

Author(s)

Maria Érbia Cássia Carnaúba

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas
• Defense date: 2017-03-20

Examining board members

Marcos Nobre; Inara Luisa Marin; Stefan Fornos Klein; José Rodrigo Rogriguez; Rúrion Melo

• Advisor: Marcos Nobre

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to return to the genesis of the concept utopia in the thematic of Critical Theory. This means, we limit this task in the work of Herbert Marcuse, with the intention of showing that, however much the author fluctuates in his outlook, utopia is the most important concept to understand his work. This is only possible insofar as (i) its "Traditional" character is considered, which has been widely criticized by Marx and the founders of Critical Theory; and ii) conjugates the utopia with the diagnosis of present time. In Marcuse's trajectory, utopia was always present, from the texts on biology to his most "dark" book The One-dimensional Man, passing through The End of Utopia. Here there is a stance against the readings that erroneously point to a "pessimistic" or "dystopic" moment in Herbert Marcuse's work. Our thesis consists of showing a periodization that explains the constancy of the utopia and the oscillations of Marcuse insofar as it changes the diagnosis of the present time, as a concrete way of understanding and making revolution in three great phases in the work. Re-elaborating this notion, critically was the philosophical and political legacy left by Marcuse for Critical Theory (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/23830-6 - Critical theory and Utopia
• Grantee: Maria Érbia Cássia Carnaúba
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate