Early Frankfurt School and Jewish Tradition

Abstract

The relationship between early Frankfurt School and Jewish tradition is an issue deserving further research. Regarding the Jewish identity of the thinkers in early Frankfurt School, they demonstrate their Jewishness in a non-Jewish way. The relationship between early Frankfurt School and Jewish tradition is embodied in the critical spirit and the pursuit of redemption. The intermediacy of Jewish identity and the boundary thinking in Jewish tradition result in their critical interpretation of the targeted culture and value system. Such critical dimension is of strong ethical and constructive colors and is represented in a redemptive quality in early Frankfurt School and Jewish tradition. The German Jewish scholars in Frankfurt School delves into the transcendence which is used to cast off the limitations and prejudices imposed upon them by the modern society. The relationship between early Frankfurt School and Jewish tradition is the one, essentially, between critical theory and Jewish tradition. It is directed towards the redemptive dimension in critical thinking and critical orientation in redemptive thinking.