19:18; Matthew 22:39) – in terms of this Jewish collective understanding as
being its original intent: “Love your neighbor, for he/the other is you”
(Horkheimer 1970:63). This is the moral corollary of Judaism’s theological
prohibition of naming and making images of the Absolute that interests
Horkheimer. Morality in theory and in praxis is found in this dialectical
identification of one’s autonomy and sovereignty in the love and solidarity
with the fate of others, particularly “the least” of humanity. Morality is the
expression of the dialectical dynamic between personal autonomy and social
solidarity wherein one is truly a member of humanity. It is for the well-being
and life chances of others that martyrs and enlighteners of all ages have thus
sacrificed themselves.
Such a notion of morality cannot be found in the Rational Choice Theory
of religion nor its solipsistic bourgeois, instrumental, strategic and positivis-
tic rationality, in which there is no transcendence beyond self-interest and
the status quo of what is. As Horkheimer asserts, in the thought of positivism,
there is no compelling reason why a person should not hate rather than love
the other, particularly if such an action is enjoyable or beneficial to the one
acting. Morality is grounded in actions that put into praxis the longing for
that which is Other than the antagonisms of the existing status quo, which
empowers one to act not merely to survive or benefit in the midst of the
antagonism. In the critical theory of religion, human actions are moral when
they transcend the self and its concern for self-preservation for the better-
ment of life of the others. Here is a fundamental difference between the Critical
Theory of religion and Rational Choice. Morality can not be justified in terms
of positivism, which appeals only to facts, to science as a means of capital-
istic production and the knowledge of the world as it is. According to the
critical theory of religion, all attempts to ground morality in the theory and
praxis of positivism – which is the reifying metaphysics of what is – becomes
nothing but an insidious and harmonistic false consciousness.
Freedom of Will
In terms of Horkheimer ’s critical theory of religion, that which is good and
moral in this world comes not from God but from human beings, who act
freely for that which is Right – a better, more just, beautiful, kind, rational,
free and peaceful world. Human beings can do good or bad due to their free-
dom of will. Horkheimer grounds this understanding of free will in terms of
146 • Michael R. Ott