Horkheimer was convinced that the societal relevance of philosophy (and its history) stems from the fact that philosophical concepts always reflect the historical struggles of people. He reflected on the philosophy of history within the framework of a critical theory of the historical course of social processes. Understanding the meaning of ideas that have manifested in history means seeing them in their societal context. Therefore, knowledge of history is not an abstract construction in the sense of a history of ideas, but a conceptual reconstruction of the material life process as the basis of the intellectual horizon and the cultural framework of people who are grappling with the natural conditions of their life process. Materialistic philosophy of history fundamentally has to distinguish between the explanation of the previous historical course and its ideological justification.