Analysis of the Problems of Modern Man in the Aspect of the Theoretical Heritage of the Frankfurt School

The article is devoted to the analysis of problematic aspects of modern human existence within the discourse of the Frankfurt School, which views modern social reality as a totalitarian system, formed under conditions devoid of a proletariat. In this context, the revolutionary idea, in the hands of outsiders and the intelligentsia, transforms into a means of governance and power. The social reality is examined as functioning according to the rules of technocracy and the simulacrum of mass media. Under the influence of an enslaving “repressive civilization”, modern man becomes a mere functionary within it, while the popularization of the ideology of utility and profit inevitably leads to the potential manipulation of both individual and collective thinking. Representatives of the Frankfurt School propose as a means of solving this problem ‒ the restoration of true Reason, acting as an antipode to the global, uniform mind. The authors analyze key philosophical ideas concerning the spiritual and corporeal unity of human beings, as well as the discourse on anthropological and cultural-natural integrity. The human being is considered in the context of a need for an actual social reality functioning according to the principles of love and reason, creativity and artistry, self-identity, and self-sufficiency.