The thing that develops us, makes us grow, matures our ideas, and strengthens us is criticism. It can guide us back on the right path when we think we are going in the right direction and also motivates us to improve the good into something better. In today’s article, I will begin with an examination of the Frankfurt School, which critiques the belief that there is no perfect state and challenges the acceptance of science as a new religious-like faith that has become an essential part of our lives since the Enlightenment era.

According to the Frankfurt School, the Enlightenment brought about a time when the curtain was lifted, and the world came under the dominion of science and technology. While humans were freed from the influence of pre-Enlightenment religion and myth, they now live in a system where reason and thought are instrumentalized, leading to alienation and individualism. The Frankfurt School rejects the idea of a single correct and absolute method and views criticism as a transformative and changing act. They argue that practice and theory are inseparable, and both must be integrated for success.

The Enlightenment, undoubtedly, is one of the most significant and pivotal events that changed the course of the world. It places reason and humanity at the center, advocating for a new world order guided by the power of reason. Thinkers like Descartes, Locke, and Spinoza laid the foundation for this school of thought in the 17th century, which was later strengthened during the Renaissance, leading to the modern and contemporary era. According to Kant Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed nonage. Nonage is the inability to use one’s own understanding without another’s guidance.