Adorno and the Political

by Espen Hammer

Interest in Theodor W. Adorno continues to grow in the English-speaking world as the significance of his contribution to philosophy, social and cultural theory, as well as aesthetics is increasingly recognized. Espen Hammer’s lucid book is the first to properly analyze the political implications of his work, paying careful attention to Adorno’s work on key thinkers such as Kant, Hegel and Benjamin. Examining Adorno’s political experiences and assessing his engagement with Marxist as well as liberal theory, Hammer looks at the development of Adorno’s thought as he confronts Fascism and modern mass culture. He then analyzes the political dimension of his philosophical and aesthetic theorizing. By addressing Jürgen Habermas’s influential criticisms, he defends Adorno as a theorist of autonomy, responsibility and democratic plurality. He also discusses Adorno’s relevance to feminist and ecological thinking. As opposed to those who see Adorno as someone who relinquished the political, Hammer’s account shows his reflections to be, on the most fundamental level, politically motivated and deeply engaged. This invigorating exploration of a major political thinker is a useful introduction to his thought as a whole, and will be of interest to scholars and students in the fields of philosophy, sociology, politics and aesthetics.

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Espen Hammer is a Norwegian philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy at Temple University and has held visiting professorships at the New School for Social Research and the University of Pennsylvania. Between 1998 and 2007 he was a Lecturer and later Reader at the University of Essex. He currently lives in Philadelphia.

Hammer's main focus is on the post-Kantian European tradition of philosophy. Most of his work deals with questions of ethics, politics and subjectivity.

Reviews

[Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much copied jargon from debates the author dips his toes in, caused by the large amount of subjects that are tackled. Although most questions remain unsatisfactorily dealt with, some interesting conclusions and interpretations are reached. The main theme of the book is done justice to, which for me already culminated in the first chapter.