Max Horkheimer

Max Horkheimer (born February 14, 1895, Stuttgart, Germany—died July 7, 1973, Nürnberg) was a German philosopher who, as director of the Institute for Social Research (1930–41; 1950–58), developed an original interdisciplinary movement, known as critical theory, that combined Marxist-oriented political philosophy with social and cultural analysis informed by empirical research. Horkheimer studied philosophy at the University of Frankfurt, where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1922. In 1930, after four years as lecturer in social...