Adorno, Theodor Wiesengrund [key], 1903–69, German philosopher, born as Theodor Adorno Wiesengrund. Forced into exile by the Nazis (1933), he spent 16 years in England and the United States before returning to Germany to take up a chair in philosophy at Frankfurt. A leading member of the Frankfurt School, Adorno launched critiques of the Enlightenment conception of reason (see Dialectic of Enlightenment, written with Max Horkheimer, 1947, tr. 1972), of Hegelian idealism (see Negative Dialectics 1966, tr. 1973), and of existentialism (see The Jargon of Authenticity 1964, tr. 1973). He also led an influential attack on the “culture industry” prevalent in contemporary capitalist society. Influenced by Schoenberg, Adorno wrote extensively on music theory and developed an account of modernism in art. Adorno's works include Minima Moralia (1951, tr. 1974), Philosophy of Modern Music (1958, tr. 1985), and Aesthetic Theory (1970, tr. 1984).
See biographies by S. Müller-Doohm (2003) and D. Claussen (2008); study by M. Jay (1984).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Philosophy: Biographies
