{"product_id":"theodor-w-adorno-james-rolleston-9780822344711","title":"Theodor W. Adorno: An Introduction","description":"Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969) was one of the twentieth century's most important thinkers. In light of two pivotal developments-the rise of fascism, which culminated in the Holocaust, and the standardization of popular culture as a commodity indispensable to contemporary capitalism-Adorno sought to evaluate and synthesize the essential insights of Western philosophy by revisiting the ethical and sociological arguments of his predecessors: Kant, Nietzsche, Hegel, and Marx. This book, first published in Germany in 1996, provides a succinct introduction to Adorno's challenging and far-reaching thought. Gerhard Schweppenh?user, a leading authority on the Frankfurt School of critical theory, explains Adorno's epistemology, social and political philosophy, aesthetics, and theory of culture.\u003cp\u003eAfter providing a brief overview of Adorno's life, Schweppenh?user turns to the theorist's core philosophical concepts, including post-Kantian critique, determinate negation, and the primacy of the object, as well as his view of the Enlightenment as a code for world domination, his diagnosis of modern mass culture as a program of social control, and his understanding of modernist aesthetics as a challenge to conceive an alternative politics. Along the way, Schweppenh?user illuminates the works widely considered Adorno's most important achievements: \u003ci\u003eMinima Moralia\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDialectic of Enlightenment\u003c\/i\u003e (co-authored with Horkheimer), and \u003ci\u003eNegative Dialectics\u003c\/i\u003e. Adorno wrote much of the first two of these during his years in California (1938-49), where he lived near Arnold Schoenberg and Thomas Mann, whom he assisted with the musical aesthetics at the center of Mann's novel \u003ci\u003eDoctor Faustus\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e James Rolleston\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0822344718\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780822344711\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Duke University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/06\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 200\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.90w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2009","brand":"James Rolleston","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46489226805503,"sku":"9780822344711","price":25.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_6466c329-907d-44c3-bccb-836e6525f686.jpg?v=1736952946","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/theodor-w-adorno-james-rolleston-9780822344711","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}