Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine in a synthetic way how the first and second generation of the Frankfurt School have approached and discussed the problem of philosophical argumentation and its specificity. For the first generation, the most significant reflections on this subject are those developed by Theodor W. Adorno. According to him, the specific instrument of philosophical argument is “determinate negationµ, which he takes from Hegel. In the second generation of the Frankfurt School, the authors discussed are Karl-Otto Apel and Jürgen Habermas. The article shows that they deepen the discursive character of philosophical argument, which in some way was already present in Adorno. They argue that valid philosophical theses are those which no participant in a dialogue can reasonably deny, because by participating in the dialogue he has already recognized their validity. Finally, the article briefly touches on the problem of the ethical implications of these theses