Introduction to Dialectics

This volume comprises Adorno's first lectures specifically dedicated to the subject of the dialectic, a concept which has been key to philosophical debate since classical times. While discussing connections with Plato and Kant, Adorno concentrates on the most systematic development of the dialectic in Hegel's philosophy, and its relationship to Marx, as well as elaborating his own conception of dialectical thinking as a critical response to this tradition. Delivered in the summer semester of 1958, these lectures allow Adorno to explore and probe the significant difficulties and challenges this way of thinking posed within the cultural and intellectual context of the post-war period. In this connection he develops the thesis of a complementary relationship between positivist or functionalist approaches, particularly in the social sciences, as well as calling for the renewal of ontological and metaphysical modes of thought which attempt to transcend the abstractness of modern social experience by appeal to regressive philosophical categories. While providing an account of many central themes of Hegelian thought, he also alludes to a whole range of other philosophical, literary and artistic figures of central importance to his conception of critical theory, notably Walter Benjamin and the idea of a constellation of concepts as the model for an 'open or fractured dialectic' beyond the constraints of method and system. These lectures are seasoned with lively anecdotes and personal recollections which allow the reader to glimpse what has been described as the 'workshop' of Adorno's thought. As such, they provide an ideal entry point for all students and scholars in the humanities and social sciences who are interested in Adorno's work as well as those seeking to understand the nature of dialectical thinking.

Auteur
Theodor Adorno (1903-1969), a prominent member of the Frankfurt School, was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century in the areas of social theory, philosophy and aesthetics.

Contenu
Contents
Editor?s Foreword
LECTURE ONE
Prejudices against the dialectic ? the double character of the dialectic ? the dialectic as method of articulating the Ideas (Plato) ? the order of concepts expresses the order of things ? the vital nerve of the dialectic ? the dialectic as necessary ?exaggeration? ? the positivist element of the dialectic
LECTURE TWO
?The movement of the concept? (Hegel) ? the dialectic hypostasizes the identity of thought and being ? Hegel?s dialectic as the union of identity and non-identity ? non-identity in the process, identity in the result ? introduction to the dialectic as a model of dialectic ? the movement of the concept is not sophistical ? the movement of the concept as the path of philosophical science ? the object of knowledge is internally dynamic ? the movement of the object is not arbitrary ? the metaphysical concept of truth ? the inevitable reification of truth ? historical movement is not the movement of being but is concrete ? the dialectic is not a philosophy of foundations ? the temporal core of dialectic
LECTURE THREE
Critique of prima philosophia ? matter no first principle either ? Hegel?s dialectic also a preservation of first philosophy ? all determination implies mediation ? the movement of the concept is no external contribution of thought ? a sophistical displacement of meaning in Gehlen ? the whole is the true solely as the result of all mediations ? the idea of an open dialectic ? the whole is neither a pantheistic totality of nature nor a seamless unity ? ?the truth is essentially result? ? individual phenomena only intelligible in terms of the whole ? recourse to the whole is mediated through the self-movement of the individual ? the concept of the whole as already given
LECTURE FOUR
The traditional concept of system: derivation of the whole from one fundamental principle ? the dialectical concept of system ? determinate negation ? contradiction in Kant ? contradiction in Hegel ? antithesis arises from thesis ? the measure of the absolute lies in objectivity ? dialectical criticism is necessarily immanent ? refutation of a thought as development of the thought ? the emergent absolute is essentially temporal ? the interaction of theory and practice - the truth as result is concrete
LECTURE FIVE
The charge of universal rationalization ? dialectical thought is not rationalistic thought ? the dispute over rationalism ? conceptual thought is indispensable ? the truth moment of irrationalism ? the irrational as a moment of ratio ? suffering and happiness are immanent to thought ? being in itself, being for itself, being in and for itself ? relationship of thesis, antithesis, synthesis ? dialectical method concerns the contradictory life of the object ? the dialectic not immune to ideological abuse
LECTURE SIX
Dialectical method not a formal conceptual schema ? the objectivation of truth ? every true thought becomes untrue once it is isolated ? the triadic schema irrelevant in Hegel ? the charge of universalizing contradiction ? contradiction is not a first principle ? Hegel?s critique of Kant?s transcendental dialectic
LECTURE SEVEN
Hegel?s dialectical principle of development is a principle of real being ? dialectic in Kant is only the negative side of the critique of reason ? the positive moment of the critique of reason ? reflection as the principle of the speculative self-knowledge of reason ? knowledge of knowledge also the principle of substantive knowledge ? dialectic and formal logic ? the ?example? in Hegel ? logical form of the judgement and the ?emphatic concept? ? dialectical contradiction expresses the disparity of thought and world
LECTURE EIGHT
Dialectic names the negative state of the world by its proper name ? contradiction not only in thought, but is objective ? contradiction as principle of diremption is also the principle of unity ? dialectic as union of the a priori and experience ? the objective order of the world also conceptual in character ? coercive character of dialectic ? the systematic claim of dialectic ? dialectical contradiction in Hegel?s political philosophy ? dialectical system not a seamless deductive structure ? the concept of experience in Hegel
LECTURE NINE
The paradoxical task of knowledge: identifying the non-identical ? identity of thought and being (Hegel) ? non-identity and contradiction not resolvable in thought (Marx) ? the materialist priority of being over consciousness is problematic ? the whole and the parts presuppose one another ? the materialist critique of literature cannot proceed from unmediated instances of particular experience (Benjamin) ? dialectical materialism is not vulgar materialism ? the charge of metaphysically hypostasizing the totality (Weber)
LECTUR...