Adorno Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Book Abstract: This collection of essays explores the conflictual history of two important traditions of twentieth-century European thought: the critical theory of Theodor W. Adorno and the ontology of Martin Heidegger. As is well known,... more

Book Abstract: This collection of essays explores the conflictual history of two important traditions of twentieth-century European thought: the critical theory of Theodor W. Adorno and the ontology of Martin Heidegger. As is well known, there has been little productive engagement between these two schools of thought, in large measure due to Adorno’s sustained and unanswered critique of Heidegger. Stemming from this critique, numerous political and philosophical barriers have kept these traditions separate -- barriers that have rarely been submitted to scrutiny, let alone questioned. The essays making up this collection are fresh and original attempts at coming to terms with the nuances and difficulties that these two towering figures have bequeathed to the history of European thought. The volume’s authors deal with a variety of issues ranging from epistemology to aesthetics, to ethics, to intellectual history and modernity, providing the reader with detailed insight into a thorny debate in the history of recent European thought.

Enclosed is the syllabus and course notes from the upper division course I teach in PostModernism and Post-Marxist Critical Theory. It occurs to me that some of these essays--ranging from Horkheimer and Adorno, Baudrillard, Foucault, and... more

Enclosed is the syllabus and course notes from the upper division course I teach in PostModernism and Post-Marxist Critical Theory. It occurs to me that some of these essays--ranging from Horkheimer and Adorno, Baudrillard, Foucault, and the feminist post-modern theorist Donna Haraway may offer some insight and some tools for comprehending the dark times in which we live. While these essays may not be directly aimed at understanding the rise of phenomena like the Alt-Right, toxic masculinity, and particularly violent forms of patriarchy, I think they can show us something about the ideological trends that set us on out current morally troubling path.

Puts 'Dialectic of Enlightenment' in an historical context and shows hows the concept of 'mimesis' prefigures more recent cognitive interest in the emotional foundations of human knowledge and human interaction. The paper builds bridges... more

Puts 'Dialectic of Enlightenment' in an historical context and shows hows the concept of 'mimesis' prefigures more recent cognitive interest in the emotional foundations of human knowledge and human interaction. The paper builds bridges between the critical legacy of the Frankfurt School and recent more empirically-oriented work on cognition, using Nietzsche and Winnicott as a bridge. It suggests we shouldn't be too attached to Adorno and Horkheimer's dialectical form of argument, and should focus instead on their early interdisicplinary analyses of embodied forms of knowledge.

Ouvrage collectif dirigé par Christophe David et Florent Perrier
ISBN 978-2-919648-24-5

Der Rezensent hat schon mehrfach Gelegenheit gehabt, darauf hinzuwei-sen, daß Adornos Vorlesungen eine ausgesprochen gute Möglichkeit bie-ten, sich mit dessen Denken zu beschäftigen. 1 Da man so virtuell die Chance erhält, sich... more

Der Rezensent hat schon mehrfach Gelegenheit gehabt, darauf hinzuwei-sen, daß Adornos Vorlesungen eine ausgesprochen gute Möglichkeit bie-ten, sich mit dessen Denken zu beschäftigen. 1 Da man so virtuell die Chance erhält, sich nachträglich als Hörer zu fühlen, ist allein deswegen die Edition zu begrüßen, 2 auch wenn es freilich nicht zu erwarten steht, daß Ador-no für die aktuelle Diskussion der Erkenntnistheorie im eigentlichen Sinne von großem Gewicht sein dürfte. 3 Adorno bezieht sich von vornherein auf

Cet article propose un panorama du rapport ambivalent qu’adoptent les principaux auteurs de l’École de Francfort vis-à-vis de la conception kantienne des Lumières. En passant par Habermas, Marcuse, Horkheimer et Adorno, nous nous... more

Cet article propose un panorama du rapport ambivalent qu’adoptent les principaux auteurs de l’École de Francfort vis-à-vis de la conception kantienne des Lumières. En passant par Habermas, Marcuse, Horkheimer et Adorno, nous nous proposons de montrer en quoi c’est à la fois avec et contre Kant que s’articule la Théorie critique. Nous tâcherons de montrer par ailleurs en quoi la première génération de l’École de Francfort reconduit en un sens l’aporie qu’elle soulignait déjà au sein de la posture kantienne quant à l’articulation entre théorie et pratique émancipatrice.

Lässt sich die politische Problemlage unserer Zeit literarisch erfassen? Was ist die Rolle von Literatur im globalen Kapitalismus? Lässt sich ein dauerhafter Arbeitszusammenhang von Autorinnen und Autoren organisieren? Diesen Fragen... more

Lässt sich die politische Problemlage unserer Zeit literarisch erfassen? Was ist die Rolle von Literatur im globalen Kapitalismus? Lässt sich ein dauerhafter Arbeitszusammenhang von Autorinnen und Autoren organisieren? Diesen Fragen widmete sich im April 2015 eine Schriftstellertagung unter dem Titel „Richtige Literatur im Falschen?“, die im Literaturforum im Brecht-Haus stattfand. In Zentrum stand die Frage nach dem Verhältnis zwischen Literatur, Engagement und kapitalistischer Gesellschaft. Der Band „Richtige Literatur im Falschen?“ zeichnet die Tagung dokumentarisch nach und präsentiert darüber hinaus aktuelle Statements der Beteiligten. Mit Beiträgen von Ann Cotten, Annett Gröschner, Joachim Helfer, Jan Loheit, Thomas Meinecke, Norbert Niemann, Helmut Peitsch, Monika Rinck, Kathrin Röggla, David Salomon, Stefan Schmitzer, Erasmus Schöfer, Ingo Schulze, Ingar Solty, Enno Stahl, Thomas Wagner, Michael Wildenhain und Raul Zelik.

Beginning classical social theory introduces students and educated general readers to thirteen key social theorists by way of examining a single, exemplary text by each author, ranging from Comte to Adorno. It answers the need for a book... more

Beginning classical social theory introduces students and educated general readers to thirteen key social theorists by way of examining a single, exemplary text by each author, ranging from Comte to Adorno. It answers the need for a book that helps students develop the skill to critically read theory. Rather than learning how to admire the canonical theorists, readers are alerted to the flow of their arguments and the texts' contradictions and limitations. Having gotten 'under the skin' of one key text by each author will provide readers with a solid starting point for further study.
Contents:
1 Introduction: If it is not mysterious, it is not social theory
2 The well-planned reorganisation of society: Auguste Comte
3 If you can't beat democracy, join it: Alexis de Tocqueville
4 Pariahs of the world, unite!: Flora Tristan
5 Capitalist modernity is the real savagery: Karl Marx
6 The conflict of community and society: Ferdinand Tönnies
7 There is some Thing out there: Emile Durkheim
8 The double consciousness: W. E. B. Du Bois
9 From good to bad capitalism and back: Max Weber
10 Strangers who are from here: Georg Simmel
11 Love, marriage and patriarchy: Marianne Weber
12 Critical versus traditional theory: Max Horkheimer
13 What is a woman, and who is asking anyway: Simone de Beauvoir
14 Society as mediation: Theodor W. Adorno

Herbert Spencer’s grave faces Marx’s at Highgate Cemetery in London. What would the 19th century liberal, utilitarian and social Darwinist, Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), who was perhaps the most prominent, widely read and popular... more

Herbert Spencer’s grave faces Marx’s at Highgate Cemetery in London. What would the 19th century liberal, utilitarian and social Darwinist, Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), who was perhaps the most prominent, widely read and popular philosopher in the world during his lifetime - that is, in Marx’s lifetime - have to say to Marxists or more generally to the left, when such liberalism earned not only Marx’s own scorn but also Nietzsche’s criticism? We cannot assume as Marx did that we are already past Spencer’s classical liberalism, but are driven back to it, ineluctably, whether we realize it or not. Only by returning to the assumptions of classical liberalism can we understand Marx’s critique of it. The glare of Marx’s tomb at Highgate stares down upon a very determinate object. If one disappears, they both do.

Form und Satz in Adornos Ästhetischer Theorie Bemerkenswert viele Sätze in Adornos Ästhetischer Theorie finden schon im weitgespannten Spektrum seiner früheren Schriften wiederholten Aus-druck. Kann man das Buch also als Kulminationspunkt... more

Form und Satz in Adornos Ästhetischer Theorie Bemerkenswert viele Sätze in Adornos Ästhetischer Theorie finden schon im weitgespannten Spektrum seiner früheren Schriften wiederholten Aus-druck. Kann man das Buch also als Kulminationspunkt seines Lebens-werks lesen? In gewissem Sinne ja. Mit seiner posthumen Veröffentlichung hat es ein Eigenleben angenommen, obwohl es zum Zeitpunkt des unzeiti-gen Todes seines Verfassers unvollendet war. Es steht viel, ja, zu viel in der Ästhetischen Theorie. Auch wenn die ersten Herausgeber die Aufgabe, ei-nen kohärenten Text herzustellen, hervorragend gelöst haben (wobei Ko-härenz eines der Themen des Buches ist), bleibt das Gefühl, dass eine wei-tere Überarbeitung von Adornos eigener Hand ihm jene Art von Klarheit verliehen hätte, die er in den Büchern erreichte, die er zu seinen Lebzeiten veröffentlichte. Ich denke hier weniger an die gedankliche Deutlichkeit je-ner wunderbaren universitären Vorlesungen, die er als Vorbereitung auf die Abfassung des Buches hielt, sondern mehr an die expressive Prägnanz, die mit der Form des Essays verbunden ist, einer Form, mit der Adorno be-trächtliche Erfahrung hatte. Die Essayform passt gut zu dem Eindruck, dass er die Kapitel der Ästhetischen Theorie aus mehr oder weniger in sich geschlossenen Passagen erarbeitet hat, die manchmal als aphoristisch be-zeichnet werden-ein Hinweis darauf, dass jede von ihnen, wie in Benja-mins Passagenwerk oder Adornos eigener Minima Moralia, ein gedankli-ches Abbild der Welt enthält oder dass, in ihrem Oszillieren zwischen Gedrängtheit und Anmerkungscharakter, jede von ihnen sich dem enigma-tischen Wesen der Paralipomena Schopenhauers, der Diapsalmata Kier-kegaards und der fröhlichen Abschnitte Nietzsches nähert. Als nächstes möchte ich fragen, ob es vielleicht gerade Adornos spezi-fische Art und Weise der Auseinandersetzung mit ästhetischer Theorie war, die es ihm unmöglich machte, eben dieses Buch endgültig fertigzustellen. Es hat mir lange zu denken gegeben, dass es Adorno, obwohl er sich drei-ßig Jahre lang mit der Absicht trug, nie gelang, jenes Buch zu vollenden, in dem er Beethoven in den Mittelpunkt seiner Philosophie der Musik gestellt hätte. Bücher über Wagner, Mahler und Berg, aber warum nicht dieses? Für Adorno deutet bereits die Idee einer ästhetischen Theorie, die Art und Weise, wie die beiden Begriffe ästhetisch und Theorie zwangsläufig in ei-nem produktiv-destruktiven Widerspruch zueinander stehen, darauf hin, Brought to you by | Columbia University Libraries

Composing for the Films, written by Theodor W. Adorno and Hanns Eisler in 1947, seems to have been consigned to a fate of oblivion. The reasons could be related to the controversy about the authorship... more

Composing for the Films, written by Theodor W. Adorno and Hanns Eisler in 1947, seems to have been consigned to a fate of oblivion. The reasons could be related to the controversy about the authorship of the work or to the fact that it contains condensed theses that some consider outdated or, again, to the preference given to themes such as dodecaphonic music, fetishism in music, jazz or pop music considered more relevant. On closer examination, however, this essay reveals a tendentially underestimated importance that lies in the fact that it summarizes the theses that Adorno elaborates in relation to mass music (pop music and jazz) and those related to the cultural industry. It is then interesting, fifty years after Adorno’s death, to restore dignity and centrality to Composing for the Films, also by virtue of the attempt, which perhaps elsewhere does not appear with equal sincerity, to mediate between music and technology

Back cover text: Real Social Science presents a new, hands-on approach to social inquiry. The theoretical and methodological ideas behind the book, inspired by Aristotelian phronesis, represent an original perspective within the social... more

Back cover text: Real Social Science presents a new, hands-on approach to social inquiry. The theoretical and methodological ideas behind the book, inspired by Aristotelian phronesis, represent an original perspective within the social sciences, and this volume gives readers for the first time a set of studies exemplifying what applied phronesis looks like in practice. The reflexive analysis of values and power gives new meaning to the impact of research on policy and practice. Real Social Science is a major step forward in a novel and thriving field of research. This book will benefit scholars, researchers, and students who want to make a difference in practice, not just in the academy. Its message will make it essential reading for students and academics across the social sciences.

The "thingification" of music and its influence on religious ambience Abstract: This work’s key point is to analyze critically the actual attitude of society about the sacred-religious music. By Theodor W. Adorno’s thoughts, we’ll do a... more

The "thingification" of music and its influence on religious ambience
Abstract: This work’s key point is to analyze critically the actual attitude of society about the sacred-religious music. By Theodor W. Adorno’s thoughts, we’ll do a connection, applying some of his ideas and concepts about music in religious ambience. We’ll observe how the media made of this universal good something so trivial that it can’t be noted any differentiated behavior dealing with sacred and secular music. It won’t be discussed relatives concepts such as genders and musical formations, but the individual attitude before a kind of music, at least, should be treated in a different way than the other, sometimes without option, ends up being the daily music.

This essay first contextualizes Adorno's essays in literary criticism in relation to his historico-philosophical account of modern rationalization and late capitalism, his dialectical theory of culture, and his return to postwar... more

This essay first contextualizes Adorno's essays in literary criticism in relation to his historico-philosophical account of modern rationalization and late capitalism, his dialectical theory of culture, and his return to postwar Germany. It then presents the neo-Marxist and formalist principles that inform his literary criticism, emphasizing the artwork's critical relationship to society on the one hand, and the theory of aesthetic experience undergone by the artwork's recipient on the other. These principles are exemplified in selective readings of Adorno's essays on Heinrich Heine and Friedrich Hölderlin. The essay concludes by polemically juxtaposing Adorno's practice of literary criticism with that of neo-Aristotelian "ethical criticism."

This article examines five common misunderstandings about case-study research: (a) theoretical knowledge is more valuable than practical knowledge; (b) one cannot generalize from a single case, therefore, the single-case study cannot... more

This article examines five common misunderstandings about case-study research: (a) theoretical knowledge is more valuable than practical knowledge; (b) one cannot generalize from a single case, therefore, the single-case study cannot contribute to scientific development; (c) the case study is most useful for generating hypotheses, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building; (d) the case study contains a bias toward verification; and (e) it is often difficult to summarize specific case studies. This article explains and corrects these misunderstandings one by one and concludes with the Kuhnian insight that a scientific discipline without a large number of thoroughly executed case studies is a discipline without systematic production of exemplars, and a discipline without exemplars is an ineffective one. Social science may be strengthened by the execution of a greater number of good case studies.

Forthcoming in Martin Hartmann and Arvi Särkelä (eds.), Naturalism and Social Philosophy: Contemporary Perspectives "Denn die einen sind im Dunkeln Und die andern sind im Licht Und man siehet die im Lichte Die im Dunkeln sieht man nicht"... more

Forthcoming in Martin Hartmann and Arvi Särkelä (eds.), Naturalism and Social Philosophy: Contemporary Perspectives "Denn die einen sind im Dunkeln Und die andern sind im Licht Und man siehet die im Lichte Die im Dunkeln sieht man nicht" Bertolt Brecht, Moritat von Mackie Messer (19: 320) Robin Celikates, Martin Hartmann, Federica Gregoratto, Arto Laitinen, Otto Linderborg, Italo Testa, Thomas Wallgren and to the many commentators, who shall go unnamed, at the Power 2018 Conference at Tampere University, in the von Wright-Wittgenstein Research Seminar at the University of Helsinki, and at the conference "Social Critique and the Concept of Nature"

There are three important points contained in this part of the book. The first is about the work of Adorno on the culture industry and popular music as well as the background, the second is the argument about the difference in popular... more

There are three important points contained in this part of the book. The first is about the work of Adorno on the culture industry and popular music as well as the background, the second is the argument about the difference in popular music with other music, and the third is about the position of popular music in society. Firstly, it discusses more focused on the work of Adorno on the culture industry and popular music as well as the background. The key importance of the work on music of Adorno, "The culture industry is central agency in contemporary capitalism for the production and satisfaction of false needs and Adorno's analysis is a challenge to those who seek to recognize some value in pop music " (as cited in Fifth, p.4). The background of the analysis is a critique of Marxist theory about capitalism which not only cause changes in social life but also impact on the industry, for example the culture industry. The culture industry makes the "culture" as a valuable commodity that can be sold to the market and have the prospect of becoming profit. When something has become a commodity and entered the market, it means the commodity has been made in accordance with the wishes of the market and this led to the standardization of commodities. It also let to the standardization of products of the culture industry. Secondly, it discusses the argument about the difference of popular music with other music. Adorno said that, " The popular music is a part of culture industry" (p.4, para.4). Pop music in his view is a standardized product either type of songs, songs and parts of songs Themselves (p. 5). He also added that the part of piece of popular music are interchangeable. It is based on his analysis by comparing popular music with serious music. He emphasized that the difference between the two relates to issues of the market and the context in the which music is produced and consumed.

This book examines the role of Samuel Beckett in contemporary philosophical aesthetics, primarily through analysis of both his own essays and the various interpretations that philosophers (especially Adorno, Blanchot, Deleuze, and Badiou)... more

Early academic article on McCartney's songs during/after the Beatles. This focuses on themes of time and nostalgia alongside musical innovation in a selection of McCartney songs, 1963-2001. Some of my later publications on McCartney (and... more

Early academic article on McCartney's songs during/after the Beatles. This focuses on themes of time and nostalgia alongside musical innovation in a selection of McCartney songs, 1963-2001. Some of my later publications on McCartney (and Lennon) are also available on my academia.edu page.

Im Mittelpunkt des Beitrags steht die Frage, inwiefern Strukturen und Praxen der stationären Behindertenhilfe mit Adornos „Erziehung nach Auschwitz“ (1966/1971a) (neu) verstanden werden können. Dabei soll problematisiert werden, inwiefern... more

Im Mittelpunkt des Beitrags steht die Frage, inwiefern Strukturen und Praxen der stationären Behindertenhilfe mit Adornos „Erziehung nach Auschwitz“ (1966/1971a) (neu) verstanden werden können. Dabei soll problematisiert werden, inwiefern pädagogisches Handeln in der Behindertenhilfe – hier vergegenständlicht am Beispiel des stationären Wohnens von Menschen mit geistiger Behinderung – sich oftmals in totalen Strukturrahmen, fremdbestimmenden Praxen sowie einer drohenden Institutionalisierung und Bürokratisierung vollzieht (siehe u.a. Trescher, 2017a, S. 161-162). Diese Strukturmerkmale können im Lichte dessen gelesen werden, was Adorno als „Prinzip von Auschwitz“ (Adorno, 1966/1971a, S. 93) charakterisiert und als Ermöglichungsbedingungen totaler Herrschaft versteht. Hierdurch sollen
selbstredend keinesfalls die Praxen der Behindertenhilfe mit den nationalsozialistischen Verbrechen gleichgesetzt werden. Vielmehr sollen die Fremdbestimmung und tiefgreifend verflochtenen, oft subjektiv wirkmächtig werdenden Abhängigkeiten benannt werden, denen Menschen mit geistiger Behinderung im Alltag immer wieder gegenüberstehen. Dabei entsteht – auch wenn nicht intendiert bzw. gegenteilig intendiert – oft allein durch politischbürokratisch-formalisierte Abläufe ein Prinzip von (für das Subjekt) fremder
Herrschaft. Strukturen und Praxen der stationären Behindertenhilfe werden durch unterschiedliche Inanspruchnahmen und Interessen hervorgebracht, die sich teils ambivalent zueinander verhalten können.

In this book, Anastasia Marinopoulou conducts a systematic comparison of modern epistemology and the epistemological concerns of the Frankfurt School, addressing phenomenology, structuralism and poststructuralism, modernism and... more

In this book, Anastasia Marinopoulou conducts a systematic comparison of modern epistemology and the epistemological concerns of the Frankfurt School, addressing phenomenology, structuralism and poststructuralism, modernism and postmodernism, systems theory and critical realism. Beginning with an examination of twentieth-century epistemology, particularly the concept of lifeworld (Lebenswelt), Marinopoulou traces the development of the field up to the present day, considering basic conceptions such as dialectics, theory and practice in science, and the potential for a political epistemology based on the arguments of critical theory. Throughout this, she provides a concrete analysis of the work of leading Frankfurt School figures, including Horkheimer, Adorno and Habermas, and raises key questions on methodology in science and research. The book contains previously unpublished commentary from Jürgen Habermas (on systems theory), William Outhwaite (on critical realism) and Stefan Müller-Doohm (on the Frankfurt School), provided to the author in recent interviews. It is organized to be of practical use for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and each chapter includes graphs and schemata that condense the basic argument for the area of modern epistemology and methodology under examination.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and... more

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

If spirit is constituted through recognition, then the fact that recognition somehow depends on (first) nature – as I will argue in the first part of this paper – will have deep consequences on how we are to conceive the genesis and the... more

If spirit is constituted through recognition, then the fact that recognition somehow depends on (first) nature – as I will argue in the first part of this paper – will have deep consequences on how we are to conceive the genesis and the structure of the social and historical world, and the very notion of social freedom that participating in this world makes possible. Secondly, I will argue that even at the spiritual level recognition cannot be conceived on its own terms, but must rather be thought by means of the notions of second nature and habit. The move from recognition to second nature implies a dialectical embodied notion of freedom. Finally, in the third part of the paper I will argue that, once we understand recognition in terms of embodied second nature, then we have to take into account how much the contingency, the fragility and the plurality of second nature affect our notion of freedom.

My thesis here is two-fold. First, that Adorno’s critique of conceptual rationality (in its Hegelian form) misconstrues its critical potential and forces a lapse into epistemic and ethical solipsism. Second, that a reconsideration of... more

My thesis here is two-fold. First, that Adorno’s critique of conceptual rationality (in its Hegelian form) misconstrues its critical potential and forces a lapse into epistemic and ethical solipsism. Second, that a reconsideration of Hegel’s doctrine of the concept as an ontological category can help us utilize negative thinking in a more compelling and politically relevant way. Adorno’s project for a negative dialectics leads us not toward a critical form of reason with political (and hence, transformative) potential, but, rather, toward a retreat from the actual mechanisms that prop up defective forms of social reality. In addition, in his radical skepticism of the doctrine of the concept, Adorno also misses the chance to develop a critical theory of the good and a kind of critical practical reason that has the power to re-shape our sociality and social reality.

Is it trivial, or perhaps even irresponsible, to explore aesthetic themes at a time when the world is engulfed by war, genocide, terrorism, poverty, climate change and financial turmoil? Why indulge in painting, poetry or music when lives... more

Phronetic organizational research is an approach to the study of management and organizations focusing on ethics and power. It is based on a contemporary interpretation of the Aristotelian concept phronesis, usually as ‘prudence’.... more

Phronetic organizational research is an approach to the study of management and organizations focusing on ethics and power. It is based on a contemporary interpretation of the Aristotelian concept phronesis, usually as ‘prudence’. Phronesis is the ability to think and act in relation to values, to deliberate about ‘things that are good or bad for humans’ in the words of Aristotle (1976:1140a24–b12). Phronetic organizational research effectively provides answers to the following four value-rational questions, for specific problematics in management and organization studies: 1. Where are we going with this specific management problematic? 2. Who gains and who loses, and by which mechanisms of power? 3. Is this development desirable? 4. What, if anything, should we do about it?

il mondo contemporaneo sembra orientato verso gli estremi, verso l'assenza di limiti e di vincoli, verso la restaurazione di una ragione assolutistica (scientifica, teorica o politica), verso un orizzonte di autoannientamento. Per cercare... more

il mondo contemporaneo sembra orientato verso gli estremi, verso l'assenza di limiti e di vincoli, verso la restaurazione di una ragione assolutistica (scientifica, teorica o politica), verso un orizzonte di autoannientamento. Per cercare di muoversi in senso opposto si è scelto di riflettere sulla relazione, intesa come dialogo tra i saperi e come modalità d'esistenza (intersoggettività responsabile), ma anche come apertura all'altro e alla nonidentità. Con un approccio ancora di tipo relazionale si è guardato anche all'esperienza estetica, tanto rispetto alla produzione dell'opera d'arte quanto alla sua ricezione. alla crisi planetaria (non solo economico-finanziaria) che ci ha investiti non possiamo rispondere con l'isolamento, la paura e la diffidenza, ma con una rinnovata e responsabile apertura all'altro, riscoprendo le "ragioni della relazione". esplorare i sentieri rischiosi, oscuri e incerti della relazione, nelle sue varie forme, sembra offrire all'uomo d'oggi un'interessante possibilità per accedere ad una dimensione realmente aperta e comunitaria.

This paper starts with the idea that the task of social philosophy can be defined as the diagnosis and therapy of social pathologies. It discusses four conceptions of social pathology. The first two conceptions are “normativist” and hold... more

This paper starts with the idea that the task of social philosophy can be defined as the diagnosis and therapy of social pathologies. It discusses four conceptions of social pathology. The first two conceptions are “normativist” and hold that something is a social pathology if it is socially wrong. On the first view, there is no encompassing characterization of social pathologies available: it is a cluster concept of family resemblances. On the second view, social pathologies share a structure (e.g. second-order disorder). The last two conceptions are “naturalist” and hold that something is wrong because it is pathological. The third view takes it that society is the kind of substance that can fall ill - an organism. The fourth view operates with the notion of a social life that can degenerate. The four conceptions are compared along six criteria: is the view plausible, is it informative (if true), does it help define the task of social philosophy, does it take naturalistic vocabulary seriously, does it hold that pathologies share a structure, and how does it see the primacy of being wrong and being pathological.

The book makes a critical comparison of fundamental trends in modern epistemology with the epistemological concerns of critical theory of the Frankfurt School. It comprises five chapters, which refer to phenomenology, structuralism and... more

The book makes a critical comparison of fundamental trends in modern epistemology with the epistemological concerns of critical theory of the Frankfurt School. It comprises five chapters, which refer to phenomenology, structuralism and poststructuralism, modernism and postmodernism, systems’ theory and critical realism.
It follows the course of development of modern epistemology, considering basic conceptions such as dialectics, theory and practice in science, and the potential for a political epistemology based on the arguments of critical theory. It can certainly be used as a textbook because each chapter tallies with a major trend in modern epistemology, and provides a concrete analysis of the comparison it draws with the work of leading figures of the Frankfurt School such as Horkheimer, Adorno and Habermas.
The present volume addresses the reader of political theory, epistemology, social theory and it also raises key questions on methodology in science and research. Therefore, it can prove beneficial for students, researchers and academics that deal with issues of theory, practice, and method in science. The contents of the volume were meticulously constructed in order to be of practical use both for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and each chapter includes basic graphs that condense the basic argument for each thematic circle on modern epistemology and methodology.
The book contains unpublished critique and information provided to the writer in recent interviews she conducted with Jürgen Habermas (providing analysis on systems theory), William Outhwaite and Stefan Müller-Doohm (both the latter clarified issues and contributed valuable information on critical realism and the Frankfurt School, respectively).

The Aalborg Project may be interpreted as a metaphor of modern politics, modern administration and planning, and of modernity itself. The basic idea of the project was comprehensive, coherent, and innovative, and it was based on rational... more

The Aalborg Project may be interpreted as a metaphor of modern politics, modern administration and planning, and of modernity itself. The basic idea of the project was comprehensive, coherent, and innovative, and it was based on rational and democratic argument. During implementation, however, when idea met reality, the play of Machiavellian princes, Nietzschean will to power, and Foucauldian rationality-as-rationalization resulted in the fragmentation of the project.

The concept of the subject is at the core of many social movements that attempt to empower disadvantaged groups by identifying a basic subjectivity underlying and uniting such groups. Though otherwise supportive of such movements, recent... more

The concept of the subject is at the core of many social movements that attempt to empower disadvantaged groups by identifying a basic subjectivity underlying and uniting such groups. Though otherwise supportive of such movements, recent continental philosophers and social theorists such as Althusser, Derrida, and Butler have criticized such notions of subjectivity, arguing that they presuppose false and harmful ideas of unity and substantiality as the ‘true’ essence of these groups. In this paper, I propose that one possibility for resolving this debate can be found in the work of Western Marxists such as Georg Lukács, Theodor Adorno, and Walter Benjamin. I argue that they ground an authentically subjective selfhood on the distinct meaningfulness of individual consciousness. Identifying phenomenological motifs in the way they describe consciousness, I suggest that they define meaning by the way different particular experiences recall or relate to one another. By interpreting the many possible meanings of experience, subjects are able to build up an image of themselves, while collective subjectivity can be grounded on the exegesis of shared experiences. Because such meaningfulness is genuinely sui generis, emerging within consciousness, action in accordance with such images counts as autonomous; at the same time, meaning is sufficiently fluid that there can never be one single correct interpretation of it. Ultimately, the Western Marxists suggest, it is in the constant formulation and reformulation of images of oneself through reinterpretation of one’s experience that constitutes subjective selfhood.

At the same time that case studies are widely used and have produced canonical texts, it may be observed that the case study as a methodology is generally held in low regard, or is simply ignored, within the academy. For example, only 2... more

At the same time that case studies are widely used and have produced canonical texts, it may be observed that the case study as a methodology is generally held in low regard, or is simply ignored, within the academy. For example, only 2 of the 30 top-ranked U.S. graduate programs in political science require a dedicated graduate course in case study or qualitative methods, and a full third of these programs do not even offer such a course. In contrast, all of the top 30 programs offer courses in quantitative methods and almost all of them require training in such methods, often several courses. In identifying this paradox of the case study’s wide use and low regard, Gerring rightly remarks that the case study survives in a “curious methodological limbo,” and that the reason is that the method is poorly understood. In what follows, we will try to resolve Gerring’s paradox and help case study research gain wider use and acceptance.