Notes to Literature, Volume 1

by Theodor W. Adorno, Shierry Weber Nicholson (Translator), Paul Kottman (Introduction)

-- Susan Sontag

Genres: Philosophy, Literary Criticism, Nonfiction, Essays, Theory, Criticism

350 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1991

About the author

Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno was one of the most important philosophers and social critics in Germany after World War II. Although less well known among anglophone philosophers than his contemporary Hans-Georg Gadamer, Adorno had even greater influence on scholars and intellectuals in postwar Germany. In the 1960s he was the most prominent challenger to both Sir Karl Popper's philosophy of science and Martin Heidegger's philosophy of existence. Jürgen Habermas, Germany's foremost social philosopher after 1970, was Adorno's student and assistant. The scope of Adorno's influence stems from the interdisciplinary character of his research and of the Frankfurt School to which he belonged. It also stems from the thoroughness with which he examined Western philosophical traditions, especially from Kant onward, and the radicalness to his critique of contemporary Western society. He was a seminal social philosopher and a leading member of the first generation of Critical Theory.

Unreliable translations hampered the initial reception of Adorno's published work in English speaking countries. Since the 1990s, however, better translations have appeared, along with newly translated lectures and other posthumous works that are still being published. These materials not only facilitate an emerging assessment of his work in epistemology and ethics but also strengthen an already advanced reception of his work in aesthetics and cultural theory.

Reviews

[Acontecimal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enter into my house and fuck my entire family's assholes

[سپید · Rating 4 out of 5]

“In the epic form of linkage, in which the train of thought finally goes slack, language shows a lenience toward judgment while at the same time unquestionably remaining judgment.The flight of ideas, discourse in its sacrifices form, is language’s flight from its prison. If it is true, as J. A. K. Thomson has pointed out, that in Homer the similes acquire an autonomy vis-à-vis the content, the plot,6 then the same antagonism to the way language is constrained by the complex of intentions is expressed in them. Engrossed in its own meaning, the image developed in language becomes forgetful and pulls language itself into the image rather than making the image transparent and revealing the logical sense of the relationship. In great narrative the relationship between image and plot tends to reverse itself.”

Chapter 2, “On epic naivete”

[Noah · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you need to understand just how terrible Adorno is, read his essay on punctuation marks. You'd think: 'Hey, he can only go about this in two ways: a serious historical analysis of the use of punctuation, or a light-hearted musing about them.' Nope. It's a 'if you don't use commas how I like them you're a fucking dilettante', pseudo-historical, fun-but-only-if-you're-right-by-me, rant.

And it's not even well-written.

[sardinosaure 🦕 · Rating 4 out of 5]

on prépare des folies pt.2

[Steve Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorno is actually a very problematic figure. Due to his use of the outdated concept of ideology as false consciousness, readers come away from his work thinking in classical (broken) terms about ideology. This leads to a whole slew of mistakes in the art world where artists believe that they can't be overtly political in their subject matter because that will amount to false consciousness. However, this supposes a "true consciousness" which neo-Marxists and Lacanians reject as misunderstanding the radical negativity of the subject. All consciousness is necessarily false because the ego is a fraud produced by the symbolic order and misrecognition. Ideology structures reality; it doesn't distort it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

These essays provide a foundational approach to Adorno's philosophy. The essays give us the a theoretical framework and justification for essay writing and the material/intellectual implications of thought in the late 20th century.

[Noreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey, who doesn't want to read a complex, dialectical analysis of punctuation marks? I'm way into it.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Studded with a wealth of allusion these essays are akin to an extensive condensed course in Western literature. Not simply criticism, but a combination of exegesis and philosophy.

[A L]

Came for "The Essay as Form," stayed for "Punctuation Marks."