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Adorno Under the Spell: Utopia, Praxis and the Limits of Critique

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Adorno Under the Spell: Utopia, Praxis and the Limits of Critique Adorno Under the Spell: Utopia, praxis and the limits of critique Jack Lovell Price Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Philosophy Cardiff University, September 2019 i This thesis presents an interpretation of Theodor W. Adorno’s philosophy that emphasises the notion of the spell. This has been commented on, but rarely centred, in previous scholarship on Adorno. The spell represents Adorno’s understanding of the way in which totalising trends in society (including ‘identity thought’, and the tendency toward ever-greater integration, hierarchy and domination) exerts an ideological force that is so great it informs the way in which we are able to think and act in the world. I argue that, in light of this, Adorno’s negative dialectics should be understood as an attempt to criticise the spellbound world immanently, i.e. without postulating any alternative vision, but only acting to reveal what is excluded under the spell and what, therefore, is false within it. This reading builds on recent work on Adorno’s ‘inverse theology’, extending this to an inverse theory of truth in Adorno, and taking seriously his argument that negative dialectics holds only so long as we are in the ‘wrong state of things’ (ND 11). For all this, however, Adorno is motivated in his critique by a strong sense of utopian possibility and the potential, however distant, of moving beyond the spell. The interplay between these two positions causes difficulty for Adorno at times, particularly in his account of experience, and notoriously when it comes to the question of political action. I argue that there are nevertheless grounds to believe that Adorno’s utopian urge and his critical practice can be reconciled, and I give a distinctive argument that changing social and political conditions since Adorno’s death could allow for meaningful, legitimate praxis that could lead us toward overcoming the spell, which I establish through the politics of climate breakdown. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... v Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Reading Adorno ....................................................................................................... 2 Social totality, identity thinking and the ‘wrong life’ .............................................. 8 The primacy of the object ...................................................................................... 12 The structure and argument of the thesis ............................................................... 15 Relationship to the existing literature .................................................................... 18 The use of translations and a note on the text ........................................................ 25 1. Situating Adorno .................................................................................................. 28 Adorno’s contemporaries: Benjamin, Horkheimer and the ‘Frankfurt School’ .... 29 The dialectical philosophy: Hegel, Marx, Lukács ................................................. 34 Kant and transcendental subjectivity ..................................................................... 45 Heidegger and the ‘jargon of authenticity’ ............................................................ 49 Freud and the somatic ............................................................................................ 53 Adorno’s constellation ........................................................................................... 57 2. Blinded by the Spell: In and Beyond the Social Totality .................................. 58 The Spell ................................................................................................................ 59 Domination over nature.......................................................................................... 66 The occult and the Market...................................................................................... 71 The broken spell? ................................................................................................... 75 3. Negation, Truth and the Promise of Utopia....................................................... 79 ‘Insofar as we are not allowed to cast the picture of utopia…’ The image ban. .... 82 ‘The true thing determines itself by the false thing…’: determinate negation and truth ........................................................................................................................ 87 Constellation .......................................................................................................... 92 Non-conceptuality and non-identity ....................................................................... 96 ‘…The only form in which utopia is given to us at all.’ ........................................ 99 4. Somatic Impulses and Experience: Adorno and the Individual .................... 103 The materiality of experience: Subject and object ............................................... 104 Transcendental, metaphysical, or neither? ........................................................... 110 The somatic impulse in experience ...................................................................... 115 Affective Perception and the Moral Impulse ....................................................... 121 5. Problems of Praxis: Adorno and Political Action ........................................... 128 The ‘universal guilt context’ and critique ............................................................ 130 iii The artwork and resistance................................................................................... 133 Addendum experiences and education as praxis .................................................. 135 The critique of actionism ..................................................................................... 140 A real praxis? ....................................................................................................... 141 The current situation and its prospects ................................................................. 149 Conclusion: breaking the spell .............................................................................. 154 Abbreviations Used ................................................................................................ 161 Works Cited ............................................................................................................ 162 iv For Dad. v Acknowledgements I am truly grateful to have been able to draw on the support of so many people in researching and writing this work. I have been extremely fortunate to work with an excellent supervisory team. Dr Andrew Edgar has been a mentor and an inspiration and it is fair to say that, over the years, he has shaped the way I think about and practice philosophy on a profound level. His encouragement, knowledge and advice have been invaluable, and without our long and frequently tangential discussions I am sure this thesis would not be the same. In addition to his profound depth of knowledge, Andrew is a kind and decent man and working with him has been a joy. Professor Christine Hauskeller acted as my co-supervisor, and through her dedicated support I have benefited more than anyone I know from this arrangement. Christine’s genuine interest and expert insight into my work has helped me to articulate my ideas and even at times helped me to understand what my ideas are. Her feedback is often frank, but never unwelcome, and has challenged and developed my work and thought. In addition to her personal support and friendship, Christine has encouraged my professional development and welcomed me into the department at Exeter. Dr Peter Sedgwick has had the difficult task of supervising this work at the very beginning and the very end of the process. He has helped me to articulate my aims and intentions and has been a well-spring of practical advice as well as pastoral help. Peter has helped resolve a number of issues in this process and offered vital perspective during trying times. He has been unfailingly supportive of both myself and this project. I would also like to thank Professor Christopher Norris and Dr Orestis Palermos, who have reviewed my work at various stages of this project and offered insightful comments and criticisms. Academic staff at both Cardiff University and the University of Exeter have offered their support, encouragement and interest. Cardiff University’s professional services staff, in particular Rhian Rattray and Samantha Stanway of the school Postgraduate Office, have not only been extremely helpful in their professional capacity but are kind, uplifting and generous people. This project would have been much harder without their support. I am grateful for all those who have commented on my research, when I have presented it at various Work in Progress groups, conferences and colloquiums. I have been particularly fortunate to have been a part of the Exeter Critical Theory Colloquium and received detailed and insightful commentary from the participants there. Garmon Iago has been a constant companion in Adorno-land and through our reading groups and frequent discussions I have benefitted from his friendship, engagement and depth of knowledge. Dr Jaanika Puusalu has been a generous and vi supportive commentator on my work. I have been glad to be
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