Adorno's Negative Dialectic: Philosophy and the Possibility of Critical Rationality

by Brian O'Connor

Overview

The purely philosophical concerns of Theodor W. Adorno's negative dialectic would seem to be far removed from the concreteness of critical theory; Adorno's philosophy considers perhaps the most traditional subject of "pure" philosophy, the structure of experience, whereas critical theory examines specific aspects of society. But, as Brian O'Connor demonstrates in this highly original interpretation of Adorno's philosophy, the negative dialectic can be seen as the theoretical foundation of the reflexivity or critical rationality required by critical theory. Adorno, O'Connor argues, is committed to the "concretion" of philosophy: his thesis of nonidentity attempts to show that reality is not reducible to appearances. This lays the foundation for the applied "concrete" critique of appearances that is essential to the possibility of critical theory. To explicate the context in which Adorno's philosophy operates—the tradition of modern German philosophy, from Kant to Heidegger—O'Connor examines in detail the ideas of these philosophers as well as Adorno's self-defining differences with them. O'Connor discusses Georg Lucàcs and the influence of his "protocritical theory" on Adorno's thought; the elements of Kant's and Hegel's German idealism appropriated by Adorno for his theory of subject-object mediation; the priority of the object and the agency of the subject in Adorno's epistemology; and Adorno's important critiques of Kant and the phenomenology of Heidegger and Husserl, critiques that both illuminate Adorno's key concepts and reveal his construction of critical theory through an engagement with the problems of philosophy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262651080
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	08/12/2005
Series:	Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Brian O'Connor is Senior Lecturer in the School of Philosophy at University College Dublin.

Table of Contents

	Preface	ix
	Acknowledgments	xv
	Abbreviations Used in the Text	xvii
	Introduction	1
1	The Role of German Idealism in the Negative Dialectic	15
2	The Structure of Adorno's Epistemology: The Priority of the Object	45
3	The Structure of Adorno's Epistemology: The Role of Subjectivity	71
4	The Critique of Kant	99
5	Adorno on Husserl and Heidegger	127
	Conclusion	165
	Notes	175
	References	193
	Index	201

What People are Saying About This

Tom Huhn

Brian O'Connor has crafted a timely and robust contribution to the ongoing reception of Adorno's work. He provides a much needed and exceedingly lucid treatment of Adorno's central concerns with the nature of the object of experience and the shape of subjectivity, with specific reference to the achievements of Kant and Hegel, around and within which Adorno situated his own project.

Endorsement

O'Connor takes Adorno seriously as a philosopher, rather than regarding the philosophy as a mere epiphenomenon of the social theory. Taking full account of important recent work in German, he also brings a clear and analytical intelligence to the dissection and reconstruction of some of Adorno's central arguments. O'Connor's study makes Adorno's vital and detailed contributions to epistemology and metaphysics harder than ever to ignore.

—Simon Jarvis, University of Cambridge, author of Adorno: A Critical Introduction

From the Publisher

Brian O'Connor has crafted a timely and robust contribution to the ongoing reception of Adorno's work. He provides a much needed and exceedingly lucid treatment of Adorno's central concerns with the nature of the object of experience and the shape of subjectivity, with specific reference to the achievements of Kant and Hegel, around and within which Adorno situated his own project.

—Tom Huhn, School of Visual Arts, New York

Brian O'Connor has produced an elegant and persuasive defense of the epistemological core of Adorno's philosophy: the priority of the object for the possibility of experience. His analysis of Adorno's transcendental strategy is novel and challenging. An invaluable contribution to Adorno studies.

—J.M. Bernstein, New School for Social Research

O'Connor takes Adorno seriously as a philosopher, rather than regarding the philosophy as a mere epiphenomenon of the social theory. Taking full account of important recent work in German, he also brings a clear and analytical intelligence to the dissection and reconstruction of some of Adorno's central arguments. O'Connor's study makes Adorno's vital and detailed contributions to epistemology and metaphysics harder than ever to ignore.

—Simon Jarvis, University of Cambridge, author of Adorno: A Critical Introduction

J.M. Bernstein

Brian O'Connor has produced an elegant and persuasive defense of the epistemological core of Adorno's philosophy: the priority of the object for the possibility of experience. His analysis of Adorno's transcendental strategy is novel and challenging. An invaluable contribution to Adorno studies.

Simon Jarvis

O'Connor takes Adorno seriously as a philosopher, rather than regarding the philosophy as a mere epiphenomenon of the social theory. Taking full account of important recent work in German, he also brings a clear and analytical intelligence to the dissection and reconstruction of some of Adorno's central arguments. O'Connor's study makes Adorno's vital and detailed contributions to epistemology and metaphysics harder than ever to ignore.

Editorial Reviews

"Brian O'Connor has crafted a timely and robust contribution to the ongoing reception of Adorno's work. He provides a much needed and exceedingly lucid treatment of Adorno's central concerns with the nature of the object of experience and the shape of subjectivity, with specific reference to the achievements of Kant and Hegel, around and within which Adorno situated his own project."--Tom Huhn, School of Visual Arts, New York

"Brian O'Connor has produced an elegant and persuasive defense of the epistemological core of Adorno's philosophy: the priority of the object for the possibility of experience. His analysis of Adorno's transcendental strategy is novel and challenging. An invaluable contribution to Adorno studies."--J. M. Bernstein, author of "Adorno: Disenchantment and Ethics"

"O'Connor takes Adorno seriously as a philosopher, rather than regarding the philosophy as a mere epiphenomenon of the social theory. Taking full account of important recent work in German, he also brings a clear and analytical intelligence to the dissection and reconstruction of some of Adorno's central arguments. O'Connor's study makes Adorno's vital and detailed contributions to epistemology and metaphysics harder than ever to ignore."--Simon Jarvis, University of Cambridge, author of "Adorno: A Critical Introduction"

& quot; Brian O'Connor has crafted a timely and robust contribution to the ongoing reception of Adorno's work. He provides a much needed and exceedingly lucid treatment of Adorno's central concerns with the nature of the object of experience and the shape of subjectivity, with specific reference to the achievements of Kant and Hegel, around and within which Adorno situated his own project.& quot; --Tom Huhn, School of Visual Arts, New York

& quot; Brian O'Connor has produced an elegant and persuasive defense of the epistemological core of Adorno's philosophy: the priority of the object for the possibility of experience. His analysis of Adorno's transcendental strategy is novel and challenging. An invaluable contribution to Adorno studies.& quot; --J. M. Bernstein, author of Adorno: Disenchantment and Ethics

& quot; O'Connor takes Adorno seriously as a philosopher, rather than regarding the philosophy as a mere epiphenomenon of the social theory. Taking full account of important recent work in German, he also brings a clear and analytical intelligence to the dissection and reconstruction of some of Adorno's central arguments. O'Connor's study makes Adorno's vital and detailed contributions to epistemology and metaphysics harder than ever to ignore.& quot; --Simon Jarvis, University of Cambridge, author of Adorno: A Critical Introduction

" Brian O'Connor has crafted a timely and robust contribution to the ongoing reception of Adorno's work. He provides a much needed and exceedingly lucid treatment of Adorno's central concerns with the nature of the object of experience and the shape of subjectivity, with specific reference to the achievements of Kant and Hegel, around and within which Adorno situated his own project." --Tom Huhn, School of Visual Arts, New York

" Brian O'Connor has produced an elegant and persuasive defense of the epistemological core of Adorno's philosophy: the priority of the object for the possibility of experience. His analysis of Adorno's transcendental strategy is novel and challenging. An invaluable contribution to Adorno studies." --J. M. Bernstein, author of "Adorno: Disenchantment and Ethics"

" O'Connor takes Adorno seriously as a philosopher, rather than regarding the philosophy as a mere epiphenomenon of the social theory. Taking full account of important recent work in German, he also brings a clear and analytical intelligence to the dissection and reconstruction of some of Adorno's central arguments. O'Connor's study makes Adorno's vital and detailed contributions to epistemology and metaphysics harder than ever to ignore." --Simon Jarvis, University of Cambridge, author of "Adorno: A Critical Introduction"

--J. M. Bernstein, author of "Adorno: Disenchantment and Ethics"

--Simon Jarvis, University of Cambridge, author of "Adorno: A Critical Introduction"

--Tom Huhn, School of Visual Arts, New York

From the Publisher