Critic

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A critic (from Greek κριτικός, kritikós - one who discerns, from Ancient Greek κριτής, krités, a judge) is a person who offers judgement or analysis, value judgement, interpretation, or observation. The term can also be used to describe an adherent of a position disagreeing with or opposing the object of criticism. Critics include professionals or amateurs who regularly judges or interprets performances or other works (such as that of artists, scientists, musicians or actors) and, typically, publishes their observations, often in periodicals. Critics are numerous in certain fields, including art critics, music critics, film critics, theatre or drama, restaurant and scientific publication critics.

Criticism is the activity of judgement or interpretation. In literary and academic contexts, the term most frequently refers to literary criticism, and in these contexts the term "critic", used without qualification, most frequently refers to this field. In some contexts, the term indicates a position of opposition or disagreement with the object of criticism.

Constructive criticism is the process of offering valid and well-reasoned opinions about the work of others with the intention of helping the recipient rather than an oppositional attitude. This help, however, can be seen as either positive or negative regarding the work, apart from its creator.

Critique, especially in philosophical contexts (where it is used to translate the German word Kritik), has a more clearly defined meaning than criticism. (Confusingly, the adjectival form of both critique and criticism is critical, making some uses ambiguous.)

In this context, a critique is a systematic inquiry into the conditions and consequences of a concept or set of concepts, and an attempt to understand its limitations. A critical perspective, in this sense, is the opposite of a dogmatic one. In philosophy this sense of the word was defined by Immanuel Kant, who wrote:

We deal with a concept dogmatically…if we consider it as contained under another concept of the object which constitutes a principle of reason and determine it in conformity with this. But we deal with it merely critically if we consider it only in reference to our cognitive faculties and consequently to the subjective conditions of thinking it, without undertaking to decide anything about its object. (Critique of Judgment sec. 74)

Later thinkers used the word critique, in a broader version of Kant's sense of the word, to mean the systematic inquiry into the limits of a doctrine or set of concepts (for instance, much of Karl Marx's work was in the critique of political economy).

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Word usage

Some uses of the term criticism describe hostility or disagreement with the object of criticism, while others denote more neutral attempts to understand the object in depth. Often context, and the contentiousness of the subject, are the only differentiating factors. Applications in the field o politics, (e.g. "criticism of U.S. foreign policy") almost exclusively refer to disagreement, while in an academic, artistic, or literary context (e.g. "criticism of Romantic poetry") usually refers to the activity of interpretation or analysis. However it should be kept in mind that no critic is free from presuppositions of some kind.

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