Theodor W. Adorno Livres

Minima Moralia est, selon Habermas, le " chef-d'œuvre d'un écrivain égaré parmi les fonctionnaires " ; autrement dit, l'invention d'une écriture anti-autoritaire. Entre les moralistes français, Marx et les romantiques allemands, Adorno entreprend, à travers de courts chapitres, vignettes, instantanés, une critique du mensonge de la société moderne, pourchassant au plus intime de l'existence individuelle les puissances objectives qui la déterminent et l'oppriment. Ce livre, qu'il convient d'étudier comme une somme, est à accueillir comme un art d'écrire, à méditer comme un art de penser et à pratiquer comme un art de vivre. Mieux : un art de résister.

Tous se pressent dans la crainte de manquer quelque chose.

Traduites pour la première fois en français en 1984, les Notes sur la littérature regroupent une série d'essais consacrés à des écrivains (Balzac, Proust, Valéry, Beckett...) et à des thèmes littéraires (le statut du narrateur, la poésie lyrique...). Le genre de l'essai, auquel est d'ailleurs consacrée la première de ces " Notes ", est l'une des formes de prédilection du philosophe : à rebours de la " perception claire et distincte " léguée par Descartes, il incarne un mode de connaissance spécifique, qui ne se soucie de résoudre ni l'équivoque ni la contradiction, et adéquate aux théories esthétiques d'Adorno. Celles-ci reposent sur l'idée que chaque œuvre d'art renferme un " contenu de vérité " propre, que le critique a pour tâche de déchiffrer. Il accède ainsi à une forme de connaissance unique des conditions de production de l'œuvre, de l'époque et de la société qui l'ont vue naître : pour Adorno, le domaine littéraire n'est pas prétexte à une application de théories philosophiques ou sociologiques, il est lui-même philosophie et instrument de connaissance.

"Early in the 1960s Adorno gave four courses of lectures on the road leading to Negative Dialectics, his magnum opus of 1966. The second of these was concerned with the topics of history and freedom. In terms of content, these lectures represented an early version of the chapters in Negative Dialectics devoted to Kant and Hegel. In formal terms, these were improvised lectures that permit us to glimpse a philosophical work in progress." -- Cover, p. [4].

Notes to Literature is a collection of the great social theorist Theodor W. Adorno's essays on such writers as Mann, Bloch, Goethe, and Benjamin, as well as his reflections on a variety of subjects. This edition presents this classic work in full in a single volume, with a new introduction by Paul Kottman.

First published in German as Philosophische Elemente einer Theorie Der Gesellschaft, 1964.

Two volumes by Theodor W. Adorno are combined in this volume: Interventions - Nine Critical Models (1963) and Catchwords: Critical Model II (1969). Both books are examples of Adorno's postwar commitment to unmasking the culture that engendered Nazism.

In summer 1960, Adorno gave the first of a series of lectures devoted to the relation between sociology and philosophy. One of his central concerns was to dispel the notion, erroneous in his view, that these were two incompatible disciplines, radically opposed in their methods and aims, a notion that was shared by many. While some sociologists were inclined to dismiss philosophy as obsolete and incapable of dealing with the pressing social problems of our time, many philosophers, influenced by Kant, believed that philosophical reflection must remain ‘pure’, investigating the constitution of knowledge and experience without reference to any real or material factors. By focusing on the problem of truth, Adorno seeks to show that philosophy and sociology share much more in common than many of their practitioners are inclined to assume. Drawing on intellectual history, Adorno demonstrates the connection between truth and social context, arguing that there is no truth that cannot be manipulated by ideology and no theorem that can be wholly detached from social and historical considerations. This systematic account on the interconnectedness of philosophy and sociology makes these lectures a timeless reflection on the nature of these disciplines and an excellent introduction to critical theory, the sociological content of which is here outlined in detail by Adorno for the first time.

This volume features key lectures leading to Adorno's 1966 work, Negative Dialectics, focusing on essential concepts from its introductory section. It showcases Adorno as a philosopher navigating his methodology amidst contemporary trends. As a critical theorist, he rejects outdated Marxist stereotypes prevalent in the Soviet bloc, addressing students who fled East before the Berlin Wall's construction in 1961. While influenced by empirical thought from the U.S., he resists its tendency toward scientific abstraction, avoiding a return to traditional idealisms in Germany or the new ontology of Heidegger and his followers. Adorno seeks to articulate a 'negative', critical approach to philosophy, emphasizing the pervasive power of totalizing systems in the post-Auschwitz world. His intellectual negativity leads to a steadfast defense of individuals—both facts and people—who resist integration into 'the administered world.' The lectures reveal Adorno as an engaging speaker, demanding yet lively, interspersing his arguments with insights on philosophers and writers like Proust and Brecht, alongside reflections on current events. This blend of rigorous intellectual discourse and concern for student engagement characterizes his teaching style.

Adorno's exploration of Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" reveals the significant influence Kant has on his philosophical framework. This volume compiles Adorno's lectures, offering insights into Kant's critical philosophy and its implications for modern thought. Through these discussions, Adorno engages deeply with Kant's ideas, shedding light on their relevance and impact on subsequent philosophical discourse.