Abstract

Structured in an essayistic manner, the work examines the debate instituted in Critical Theory around the methodology of social sciences and the tension between traditional Theory and the proposal of Critical Theory. It proposes to compare the particularities of this debate in the work of Max Horkheimer and Jürgen Habermas, establishing their tangencies and convergences, mainly in the discourse on the role of the emancipatory structuring of critical theory in the methodology of social sciences. Emphasizing how in the work of both authors, the methodological guidance of critical theory promotes the emphasis on elucidating the truth in the process of political emancipation and social awareness that makes individuals and society approach freedom.