The historical negation of aesthetic categories : Adorno's inheritance of Kant's critique of judgment
In this thesis I argue that philosophy must reflect on historical experience, and must even consider itself a mode of such experience, if it is to remain materially grounded. Adorno's enigmatic formula in Aesthetic Theory-that philosophy requires art, and that art requires philosophy-ought to be interpreted in the following manner: since art expresses history in sedimented aesthetic form, philosophy requires artworks in order to access the material conditions that ground its own reflective activity; and, conversely, since historical sedimentation may only be made critically available through philosophical theorizing, art requires philosophy, so that tradition's potential for new directions may be rescued from its conservative and regressive tendencies. In order to investigate these issues, I argue also that Adorno's aesthetic thought is indebted to Kant's third Critique. Specifically, many Kantian aesthetic categories are present in Adorno's Aesthetic Theory. Their presence, however, is qualified, because Adorno employs Hegelian determinate negation to critically examine traditional concepts. In this way, Adorno retrieves and reinvigorates the tradition of philosophical aesthetics while critically interrogating
Kaushall, Justin N.
BH Aesthetics
The historical negation of aesthetic categories : Adorno's inheritance of Kant's critique of judgment. In this thesis I argue that philosophy must reflect on historical experience, and must even consider itself a mode of such experience, if it is to remain materially grounded. Adorno's enigmatic formula in Aesthetic Theory-that philosophy requires art, and that art requires philosophy-ought to be interpreted in the following manner: since art expresses history in sedimented aesthetic form, philosophy requires artworks in order to access the material conditions that ground its own reflective activity; and, conversely, since historical sedimentation may only be made critically available through philosophical theorizing, art requires philosophy, so that tradition's potential for new directions may be rescued from its conservative and regressive tendencies. In order to investigate these issues, I argue also that Adorno's aesthetic thought is indebted to Kant's third Critique. Specifically, many Kantian aesthetic categories are present in Adorno's Aesthetic Theory. Their presence, however, is qualified, because Adorno employs Hegelian determinate negation to critically examine traditional concepts. In this way, Adorno retrieves and reinvigorates the tradition of philosophical aesthetics while critically interrogating
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