Reconfiguring the pathological construction of the modern subject: double consciousness as a premise in transformative social research

• Published in: Humanities & social sciences communications Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 1059 - 7
• Main Author: Heiss, Sabine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Palgrave Macmillan UK 01.12.2025; Palgrave Macmillan; Springer Nature
• Subjects: 4007/438; 4014/19; 4014/4003; 4014/4004; 4014/523; Colonialism; Critical theory; Double consciousness; Eurocentrism; Humanities and Social Sciences; Ideology; Knowledge; Modernity; multidisciplinary; Oppression; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Social sciences; Westernization; Europe
• ISSN: 2662-9992; 2662-9992
• DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-05472-w

Decolonial critical theory suggests that elements overlooked within the normative framework of critical theory are associated with the Frankfurt School. This paper’s objective is to explore the potential of reconfiguring Frankfurtian critical theory’s “subject” category through a “double consciousness” lens rooted in decolonial perspectives. Starting from “coloniality,” understood as the invisible structuring logic originating in the “modernity” project, this work focuses on the relationship between structures and knowledge-producing subjects in academic institutions. It addresses the colonial legacy within social research premises and discusses proposals for reconfiguring the key concept of the researcher “subject”. This approach contributes to understanding colonial legacies in knowledge production while expanding analyses and interpretations of contemporary societies.