From Alienation to Sublimation: An Analysis of Herbert Marcuse’ s Views About Ethics From a Cultural Perspective

Abstract

The Frankfurt School is best represented by Herbert Marcuse. As a so-called leftist philosopher, he uses psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud to supplement theory of Marxism. His research takes place in the context of the entire broad picture of the Western world in the 20th century, that is,western culture has reached its pinnacle, but the accelerator of culture has also sparked some problems and people are overburdened by them. As a result, complex social structures have reshaped people’s personalities and more importantly, suppressed their instincts for living or in another word “Eros”, which Herbert Marcuse believes to liberate .