Beyond Reason? Critical Theories and Forms of (Ir)rationality

One of the fundamental insights of Critical Theory is that reason is not only a prerequisite for social emancipation but is itself entangled in domination. While, in the Enlightenment’s self-conception, reason promises liberation from myth, arbitrariness, and subjugation—and at the same time promises autonomy as well as emancipation—historically it has also given rise to forms of instrumental domination of nature, social control, and exclusion. Reason and unreason, therefore, do not stand in opposition to one another as abstract opposites, but must be understood both in their interplay and within concrete social contexts. In light of persisting power relations and new forms of technological rationalization, the question therefore arises of a critical theory of reason that preserves its emancipatory claim while simultaneously revealing its entanglement in power relations.

This two-day workshop aims to explore this question by drawing on various traditions and developments in critical theory. The focus will be on the interconnection between reason, civil society, and the contradictions of social freedom (Isabel Sickenberger), colonial relations of power (Rodrigo Maruy), and technological rationality (Marvin Ester), as well as the relationship between reason, everyday common sense, and emotion, viewed from feminist and affect-theoretical perspectives (Henrike Bloemen). The book analyzes how naturalistic explanations of thought can contribute to the justification of social oppression (Chris Zunke) and examines reason both as a form of thought and as a materially effective principle of capitalist socialization (Franz Heilgendorff). At the same time, the question arises as to what possibilities for a critique of reason and the overcoming of domination are opened up by critical reflection on the domination of nature, subjectivity, and the social division of labor (Alexandra Colligs), as well as through aesthetic experience (Giulia Zerbinati). Thus, the critique of reason becomes the touchstone of a social critique that derives its standards from engaging with the contradictions of its object and inquires into the conditions for a rational organization of society.