Adorno's Positive Dialectic

Description

This book offers a radically new interpretation of the work of Theodor Adorno. In contrast to the conventional view that Adorno's is in essence a critical philosophy, Yvonne Sherratt traces systematically a utopian thesis that pervades all the major aspects of Adorno's thought. She places Adorno's work in the context of German Idealist and later Marxist and Freudian traditions, and then analyses his key works to show how the aesthetic, epistemological, psychological, historical and sociological thought interconnect to form a utopian image. The book will be eagerly sought out by students and specialists in philosophy, social and political theory, intellectual history, literary theory and cultural studies.

'Yvonne Sherratt's interpretation of Adorno's positive dialectic is provocative, lucid and original. By reconstructing hidden Freudian dimensions, she rescues Adorno's critique of enlightenment from poststructuralist pessimism. By insisting on an aesthetic way of knowing, she reclaims Adorno's utopian language from Habermasian neglect. And by reconciling these two poles in Adorno's dialectic, Yvonne Sherratt suggests a new relevance for Adorno's work.' Lambert Zuidervaart, Calvin College