Theodor W. Adorno: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #704

by Andrew Bowie

Very Short Introductions : Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring

T.W. Adorno (1903-69) was a German philosopher and social and cultural theorist. His work has come to be seen as increasingly relevant to understanding the pathologies of contemporary society evident in today's climate emergency, the financial crash, the reappearance of fascism in many countries, and the growing instability of the world order.

This Very Short Introduction covers Adorno's work and life, explaining his key philosophical concepts and the philosophical background and historical context of Adorno's thinking. Andrew Bowie shows how Adorno's exploration of why human reason can have irrational consequences led him to rethink basic concepts like 'nature', 'history', and 'freedom', offering alternatives to many ways of thinking about these concepts in contemporary philosophy. The book also examines Adorno's social theory, as well as his highly critical assessments of jazz and modern culture, which he considered threatened by the effects of modern capitalism.

ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Biography, Germany, Audiobook, Politics, Sociology

152 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2022

About the author

Andrew S. Bowie (born 1952) is Professor of Philosophy and German at Royal Holloway, University of London and Founding Director of the Humanities and Arts Research Centre (HARC).

He has worked to promote a better understanding of German philosophy in the Anglophone analytical tradition - including the works of Johann Georg Hamann, Johann Gottfried von Herder, Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Novalis (Friedrich von Hardenberg), Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Walter Benjamin, Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Theodor W. Adorno, Jürgen Habermas, Albrecht Wellmer and Manfred Frank.

Frank and Habermas have spoken highly of his work in this area - with Habermas calling his work "masterly" and Frank calling him an "exceptional scholar", whose work represents "the most knowledgeable presentation in English of the history of the German contribution to so-called continental philosophy". The philosopher Charles Taylor has described his work on music as "excellent and densely argued".

He has translated the works of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Friedrich Schleiermacher. His recent work has focused on music and philosophy, and Adorno on the nature of philosophy. In addition to his philosophical work on music, he is a keen jazz saxophonist and has played with leading contemporary jazz musicians such as Al Casey and Humphrey Lyttelton.

He did his doctoral research on "History and the Novel" (1980) at the University of East Anglia, where he was taught by the renowned German writer and scholar W. G. Sebald (who later cited Bowie's work on Alexander Kluge in his Campo Santo). He studied German philosophy at the Free University of Berlin. He was Professor of Philosophy at Anglia Ruskin University until 1999. He was also Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at the Philosophy department of Tübingen University. He is on the Advisory Council for the Institute of Philosophy.

Reviews

[Dante]

a very standard Adorno summary, neat and readable. The work from Werner Bonefeld and Chris O'Kane etc really articulates the centrality of Adorno's critical political economy and will hopefully filter through to these kind intro texts soon enough, as it gives a very different orientation to his thought.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This AVSI is certainly one of the most demanding I've encountered. I can only compare it with the Heidegger AVSI, but that was borderline incoherent, whereas AB gets his points across clearly as well as occasionally raisings effective criticism.

As for Adorno, you could sum up his views in five words: Uses Marx to kill Kant.

[Ulrik Stø Vetland]

Filosofi er skummelt.

[Illiterate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Humdrum introduction. Bowie often intrudes his pet peeves in place of examples from Adorno’s work.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good and light intro into Theodor Adorno's thought and contributions to the field of philosphy and art. While he may not be a household name like Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, and so on, he is still worthwhile to grasp.

Theodor Adorno's philosophical thought was deeply rooted in the Frankfurt School's critical theory, which aimed to understand and critique the social, cultural, and economic structures of capitalist societies. One of Adorno's central ideas was the concept of the "culture industry." He argued that under capitalism, culture had become commodified and standardized, leading to the mass production of art, music, and entertainment. This mass-produced culture, according to Adorno, resulted in a loss of individuality and critical thinking as people were exposed to repetitive and shallow content. The implications of this are many, and the observant reader can readily apply his observations to the world of social media platforms today.

Adorno also explored the idea of "negative dialectics," which was a departure from traditional Hegelian dialectics. Instead of seeking resolution or synthesis between opposing concepts, Adorno emphasized the importance of holding contradictions in tension, acknowledging the complexity and non-identity within the world. This approach aimed to challenge dogmatic and simplified thinking and promote a more nuanced understanding of reality.

His works on aesthetics delved into the role of art and music in society. Adorno believed that art should not merely cater to popular taste but should challenge conventions and provoke critical thought. He argued for the autonomy of art, stressing the importance of preserving its integrity from commercial interests and ideological manipulation.

In terms of epistemology, Adorno was critical of positivism and instrumental reason. He believed that reason had become instrumentalized under capitalism, serving as a means to achieve predetermined ends rather than promoting genuine understanding and freedom. He advocated for a more reflexive and self-critical approach to knowledge and emphasized the importance of recognizing the limitations of human reason.

Overall, Adorno's philosophical thought was characterized by its interdisciplinary nature, blending elements of sociology, aesthetics, and philosophy. He aimed to expose the negative aspects of modern society and to encourage individuals to engage in critical reflection and resist conformity to dominant cultural norms. His work continues to be influential in contemporary discussions on culture, society, and philosophy.

This short introduction walks through these sorts of things ably and never becomes a slog to get through.

[Sebastian 14 1 9 18]

Good intro to Adorno the philosopher (as opposed to Adorno the marxist, the Hegelian, etc) - Bowie is a devout reader of his lectures and it shows. The simplification required in an introduction is absolutely present, for a thinker like Adorno this means many of his ideas are robbed of depth, but Bowie is good at attempting to keep as much depth as possible. This is both helped and hindered by the lectures, which can certainly be problematically emphasized more than the works he chose to publish.

He does warp Adorno with his own modern concerns of climate change, neoliberalism, a tiny bit of idpol, etc

The jabs at “reductionist neuroscience”, the natural sciences more broadly and AI are in part in line with Adorno’s confused critique of science that tried to resist Heideggerian anti-naturalism while defending the right of philosophy to make or dispute certain claims. The jabs are made outright annoying by either choosing to appeal to the sciences violating some human freedom or dignity (at one point seemingly saying that deterministic models of the world violate notions of free will and as such those models reject the freedom fighters living under authoritarian regimes) but this is largely par for course with continental philosophy, plagued by fears that they may no longer hold the authority to make certain claims without being challenged.

[Kevin Dingess · Rating 3 out of 5]

In "Theodor Adorno" by Andrew Bowie, the author explores the life and ideas of the prominent philosopher and sociologist Theodor Adorno. While Bowie provides a comprehensive analysis of Adorno's work, one criticism that arises is his use of biased examples to illustrate the negative impact of conservative policies. This bias becomes particularly apparent after Bowie emphasizes Max Weber's value-free sociology, which suggests a need for objective analysis. By heavily relying on examples that portray conservative policies in a negative light, Bowie may inadvertently undermine the balance and objectivity that Weber's approach advocates for. Nonetheless, Bowie's book remains a valuable resource for those interested in delving into the intellectual contributions of Theodor Adorno, as long as readers remain aware of potential bias in the examples presented.

[Gabriel Lindberg]

"'Most stupidity in thinking forms where that courage, which is immanent in thought and continually stirs in it, was stifled. Stupidity is…not the simple absence of the power of thought, but rather the scar of its mutilation’ (GS 10.2 pp. 604-5). Adorno’s work is an attempt to understand the ‘mutilation’ of power of thought by the systematic pressures of modern social forms, and to discover how the scar it leaves might be healed. What primarily obstructs such healing is the fact that: ‘the reproduction of stupidity which previously took place unconsciously, under the dictates of the bare necessity of life, is, because it could be abolished, taken in the hand by triumphant mass-culture"

"Despair is the last ideology."

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's very light on everything except his ideas on aesthetics and the thesis of 'Dialectic of Enlightenment'. One wonders if this is because those are relatively easy things to talk about; we hear the names of every composer from 1850 to 1930 whom Adorno did or didn't like, and 'DoE' is re-paraphrased in at least a dozen different ways. Probably the greatest strength of the book, in fact, is that anyone who reads it will forever be able to discuss or explain 'DoE' with/to anyone they meet, regardless of audience. But I was underwhelmed because I in no way feel more up to the task of re-trying to read Minima Moralia; maybe that was an unfair expectation.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a bit incensed by the fact that Bowie refers to the volume numbers of the German collected works for the vast majority of his in-text citations, but there is no reference list ordered according to this collection; instead, there is an alphabetical list of Adorno’s works in translation, some of which have the GS number in brackets at the end, so if you’re looking up one of the volumes you just have to read the whole list until you get to the one you want. That’s really annoying. The book is good though.

[Montgomery I. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I stopped in the middle of the book. Adorno never made sense to me and this book is not helping much to change this. It's way too shallow. I can't follow the argument. I read science fiction novels which convinced me more than this book. Bowie's contemporary examples are not helping either. They are not illustrating the relevance of Adorno, they are clichés.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A modern philosopher for modern times. Interesting summary on Aderno’s work and one can really understand the reaction to positivism and his role in developing critical theory. Knocked it down because I am more interested in his philosophy of society rather his philosophy of music, which I didn’t find too compelling.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of Adorno. Bowles doesn’t shy away from mentioning where Adorno misses the mark. He also does a good job at making contemporary applications of Adorno's arguments (though this felt a bit too gratuitous for me at times). Overall, this is a good introduction to an important thinker.

[Jonathan Jonsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read entry into Adorno, I suspect that it is more a starting point than real summary, but what else can be expected in 100 small pages? Either way, I feel that I have tools for reading Adorno now, and I appreciated Bowie's writing.

[Maryam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Bowie has done a great job in making Adorno accessible for those who struggle with the original text. It helped me a lot to make sense of Adorno's philosophy.

This conversation with Bowie is a great compliment for his VSI book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boGmB...

[Víctor Bermúdez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cognition[Erkenntnis] as exaggeration.

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seems Adorno is someone who's thought I have been sorely missing. Love it.

[Paul Raphael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating and understudied philosopher, but the author struggles to express the subject's thoughts in accessible ways

[Y · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adorno was a German Jewish philosopher whose life was bisected by WWII. Living much of his life in exile from the Nazis, I got the sense much of his work is a traumatic reaction to the holocaust without him necessarily realizing it. He seems to be a professional nostalgist, pining for the past. I did not enjoy the book and didn’t find Adorno’s views very interesting.

[Choah · Rating 3 out of 5]

satisfactory for any reader seeking a very short introduction to the ideas of theodor w. adorno

[Peter Swindeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is good but you should just read Adorno himself, his stuff isn't very long.