Abstract

In this chapter, I explore the genealogical critique, with particular attention to its Nietzschean origins and its incorporation into critical theory. I define genealogy as a historical-interpretive method that traces the origins of cultural forms, values, and institutions to expose the power relations and misrecognitions embedded within them. Unlike transcendental or dialectical critiques, genealogy operates by unmasking how what appears natural or necessary is in fact contingent and shaped by power. I engage with Nietzsche’s notion of décadence as a means to diagnose the regression of vital forces in modernity and analyze how Horkheimer and Adorno’s Dialectic of Enlightenment follows this logic in revealing the self-destructive tendencies of instrumental reason. I argue that genealogical critique functions less through systematic logic than through the unveiling of distortions in collective life—particularly those disguised as progress. Though it does not always offer normative prescriptions, genealogy serves as a vital critical tool by refusing reconciliation with present forms of domination and insisting on historical depth in critique.