Immanent critique

Immanent critique is a method of discussing culture which aims to locate contradictions in society's rules and systems. This method is used in the study of cultural forms in philosophy and the social sciences and humanities. It may be contrasted with "transcendental" Kantian critical philosophy. Immanent critique further aims to contextualize not only the object of its investigation, but also the ideological basis of that object: both the object and the category to which it belongs are shown to be products of a historical process. Immanent critique has its roots in the dialectic of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and the criticisms by Karl Marx. Today it is strongly associated with the critical theorists such as Theodor Adorno. Roy Bhaskar has advocated it as one of the key methodological elements of critical realism.

The purpose of immanent critique is the detection of societal contradictions which suggest possibilities for emancipatory social change. It considers ideas’ role in shaping society, with focus on future emancipatory change. An immanent critique of a value is a discussion of the principles (overt or implicit) the value proposes. It highlights the gaps between what something stands for and what is being done in actual terms. Immanent critique tries to find contradictions and indirectly provide alternatives, without constructing an entirely new theory.

Quoting Marx, Robert J. Antonio writes in the British Journal of Sociology,

According to David L. Harvey, formerly of the University of Nevada, Reno,

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