A RAZ O TEóRICA TRIUNFA SOBRE A RAZ O PRáTICA?

This paper attempts to follow the critical theory of Frankfurt from its initial intentions, while it believedin the liberating claims of Enlightenment, until its final figures, when it has apparently abandoned thepossibilities of any emancipation through reason. From the point of view of that pessimist transition, thetheory of discourse of Jürgen Habermas will so be seen as a deep critic to the methodological approach,which had led to such pessimist conclusions. On the other hand, it is claimed to represent a brand newmeaning for the concept of rationality, one that tries to recover the initial suppositions of the old Frankfurt’sscholars.