The Institute for Social Research

Social research

Social research refers to research conducted by social scientists. Social research methods may be divided into two broad categories:* Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable evidence, and often rely on statistical analysis of many cases to create valid and reliable...

(German: Institut für Sozialforschung) is a research organization for sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 and continental philosophy

Continental philosophy

Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage, refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe. This sense of the term originated among English-speaking philosophers in the second half of the 20th century, who used it to refer to a range of thinkers and...

, best known as the institutional home of the Frankfurt School

Frankfurt School

The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...

 and critical theory

Critical theory

Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...

.

The Institute was founded in Frankfurt am Main in 1923, where it was (and once again is) affiliated with the University of Frankfurt am Main. It was founded by Felix Weil

Felix Weil

Felix Weil was a Marxist and the original financial provider for the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt am Main, Germany....

, a student of the Marxian philosopher Karl Korsch

Karl Korsch

-Biography:Korsch was born in Tostedt, near Hamburg, to Carl August Korsch, a secretary at the cantonal court and his wife Therese. In 1898 the family moved to Meiningen, Thuringia and Korsch senior attained the position of a managing clerk in a bank...

, with an endowment provided by Weil's wealthy father.