Contemporary Critical Theory and Methodology, 2011.

Contemporary Critical Theory and Methodology. London and New York: Routledge, 2011.

Abstract:
Contemporary Critical Theory's methodology is currently taking shape under the impact both of transformative internal developments in Critical Theory itself and of external pressures and incentives emanating from a series of international debates. Internally, the revitalization of the left-Hegelian tradition which led to the recovery of the concept of 'immanent transcendence' and the connection with American pragmatism made available a new framework for Critical Theory. Externally, the renaissance of pragmatism reinforced the connection between these two left-Hegelian strands, while the international debate about social criticism provided stimuli for the enhancement of Critical Theory's concept of critique.

Covering the international literature up to the latest publications, this book presents a penetrating assessment and elaboration of these developments. The reconstruction of the left-Hegelian tradition, the relation between Critical Theory and pragmatism and the associated metatheoretical implications provides the basis for Piet Strydom's groundbreaking treatment of Critical Theory's methodology. He critically assesses extant positions, presents a detailed yet comprehensive restatement and development of Critical Theory's methodology, critically compares it with a wide range of current concepts of social criticism and critique, and analyses leading critical theorists' exemplary applications of it. Besides immanent transcendence and the sign-mediated epistemology common to the left-Hegelian tradition, special attention is given to the abductive imagination, reconstruction, normative and causal explanation, explanatory mechanisms and the communicative framework which enables Critical Theory to link up with its addressees and the public.