Theodor Adorno (1903-1969)
German philosopher, born as Theodor Adorno Wiesengrund. Forced into exile by the
Nazis in 1933, he spent 16 years in England and the United States before
returning to Germany to take up a chair in philosophy at Frankfurt. A leading
member of the Frankfurt School, Adorno launched critiques of the Enlightenment
conception of reason (see Dialectic of Enlightenment , written with Max
Horkheimer, 1947, tr. 1972), of Hegelian idealism (see Negative Dialectics 1966,
tr. 1973), and of existentialism (see The Jargon of Authenticity 1964, tr.
1973). He also led an influential attack on the "culture industry" prevalent in
contemporary capitalist society. Influenced by Schönberg, Adorno wrote
extensively on music theory and developed an account of modernism in art.
Adorno's works include Minima Moralia (1951, tr. 1974), Philosophy of Modern
Music (1958, tr. 1985), Aesthetic Theory, (1970, tr. 1984).
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