Keywords I. Dying Philosophy THIS paper explores the scattered writings of Adorno on " dying today " —on the transformation of human death and dying in contemporary society—as potential resources for the development of a critical theory of death. The broader intention, for which this paper is only preparatory, would be to develop such a critical theory of death sufficiently to serve as an alternative to the two predominant and inadequate philosophical approaches to human death in contemporary philosophy: on the one side, analytic philosophy of death, with its distinctive leveling of the existential meaning of human death and dying in the name of methodological purity; on the

This article discusses the theological implications of Adorno's writings on Beckett by specifically examining their constellative motifs of death, reconciliation and redemption. It addresses not only their content but also their form, suggesting a mutually stimulating relationship between the two as based both on a negative-dialectical approach and an inverse-theological trajectory. Focusing on Adorno's discussion of Beckett's oeuvre as a "metaphysical entity, " I argue that Adorno's reading of Beckett is peculiar because it is inextricably tied to his own critical-theological venture. The essay claims that Adorno's reflections on Beckett contour, at their most basic level, meditations on theology in the age of its impossibility.

Im neunten Band der Reihe Pri ha-Pardes geht Ansgar Martins kabbalistischen Spuren in der Philosophie Theodor W. Adornos (1903–1969) nach. Der Frankfurter Gesellschaftskritiker griff im Rahmen seines radikalen materialistischen Projekts gleichwohl auch auf ‚theologische‘ Deutungsfiguren zurück. Vermittelt durch den gemeinsamen Freund Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) stieß Adorno dabei auf das Werk des Kabbala-Forschers Gershom Scholem (1897–1982). Zwischen Frankfurt und Jerusalem entwickelte sich eine lebenslange Korrespondenz. Für Adorno erscheint vor dem Hintergrund lückenloser kapitalistischer Vergesellschaftung jede religiöse Sinngebung in der Moderne als unmöglich. Der Tradition der jüdischen Mystik schreibt er hingegen eine innere Affinität zu dieser hoffnungslosen Logik des ‚Verfalls‘ zu. Sie scheint ihm zur unumgänglichen Säkularisierung religiöser Gehalte aufzufordern. Adornos kabbalistische Marginalien beziehen einen breiten Horizont jüdisch-messianischer Ideen ein. Er verleugnet dabei nie, dass es ihm um eine sehr diesseite Verwirklichung geoffenbarter Heilsversprechen zu tun ist: Transzendenz sei als erfüllte Immanenz, als verwirklichte Utopie zu denken. In diesem Anliegen sieht Adorno selbst jedoch gerade seine Übereinstimmung mit der Kabbala.

The work of the leading Frankfurt School philosopher Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969) continues to have an immense influence on contemporary cultural and critical theory, sociology, musicology, aesthetics, and political thought. Just as Adorno's theoretical approach spans a wide interdisciplinary terrain, so too does the emerging field of performance philosophy bring many disciplinary approaches together to articulate a renewed understanding of the practice of philosophy and the philosophical dimensions of performance. Adorno and Performance argues for the 'actuality' of Adorno's philosophy of art and dialectical criticism for the discipline of performance philosophy, where, following Max Pensky, the term actuality refers to both 'relevance for the present and its concerns' or 'up to date,' 'still in fashion.' The volume's essays work through Adorno's philosophy as it relates to theatre, drama, music, aesthetics, everyday life, the relation of art to society, theory to practice, and other domains of 'performance.' This book is part of the Performance Philosophy Book Series.

Apesar de ser este um trabalho mesclado pela arte literária, a Recherche de Proust, e pela filosofia da duração contínua de Bergson, literatura e filosofia aqui não se confundem nem se imiscuem em favor de alguma idéia subjacente de identidade comum; contrário a uma concepção simbiótica entre as matérias, ou a fazer da literatura filosofia e vice-versa, o que se procurou foi evolver a reflexão em duas dimensões distintas mas que, além de simpáticas entre si, ainda nutrem-se reciprocamente. A literatura proustiana assume a preponderância no processo, pois é dela que promana o objeto que conduzirá nossas considerações; logo, advém da Recherche o objeto escolhido para investigação, assim como sua estética exposta na obra; a filosofia bergsoniana, apartada das ponderações literárias e não tendo uma estética formalizada, é o ponto de apoio que operacionaliza indiretamente as reflexões. O objeto escolhido é uma peça musical ficcional que não nos é possível apreciar através de sua audição; porém, e dada sua grandeza inventiva, ela transcendeu as fronteiras da ficção (seu domicílio) e nos permitiu pensá-la como entidade real; o referido símbolo é a sonata de Vinteuil presente na Recherche de Proust; ela será o nosso grund-motiv que estabelece as diretrizes da reflexão filosófico-literária; os desdobramentos advindos dos estudos acerca desse objeto músico-ficcional apontam para as questões obra de arte e temporalidade; na obra proustiana a sonata sintetiza o modelo de obra-prima, e tal concepção vincula-se ao conceito de permanência no tempo; por outro lado, no pensamento bergsoniano a arte musical foi modelar e o filósofo, em várias ocasiões, lançou mão dela para ilustrar seu pensamento.

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."

The texts of Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno contain numerous allusions to theological and metaphysical themes. Precisely because the contents of ideas and concepts are shaped by social relations, theological ideas and concepts fall within the remit of Critical Theory. Hence the tradition of classical metaphysics is given a historical-materialistic turn: utopian contents need to be freed of their ideological functions and need to “migrate into the profane” to act as a resource for social criticism. This chapter examines religious themes within Critical Theory from the well-known prohibition of the image (“Bilderverbot”) to Adorno’s ontological proof for the existence of God and Habermas’s ambivalent reception of those themes.