Adorno, Aesthetics, Dissonance

Adorno’s aesthetics are one of the most important philosophical analyses of the 20th century, but their development remains unclear. Adorno, Aesthetics, Dissonance is the first book to provide a detailed study of how Adorno’s thinking of aesthetics developed and to show the different dimensions that came together to make it uniquely powerful. Principal among these dimensions are his intense interest inmusic and his historical and materialist approach. In addition, by studying how Adorno’s aesthetics arose through interactions with different thinkers, particularly Kracauer, Horkheimer, and Schoenberg, it becomes clear that his thought changes in its relation to dialectics. As a result, Adorno’s thinking comes to broaden the understanding of aesthetics to include the sphere of sensuality, and in doing sotransforms both aesthetics and dialectics through a notion of dissonance, which in turn has substantial implications for the relation of his thinking to praxis.

Reviews

Adorno, Aesthetics, Dissonance is certain to make a distinctive contribution to the most recent literature on Adorno. While many have traced the influences of Kant and Hegel on Adorno's aesthetics, this book definitively shows the equally deep marks made by Adorno's engagement with a host of contemporary composers and writers. Here we find an Adorno developing his thinking about art and society while embedded in the most advanced art of his time.