Max Horkheimer, Dialektik der Aufklärung. Philosophische Fragmente [Dialectic of Enlightenment]

Andrew Edgar (Cardiff University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Domains

Philosophy (any)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1944

Places

Germany, Baden-Württemberg (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

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Dialectic of Enlightenment

Horkheimer and Adorno brought together a collection of more or less fragmentary reflections on the cultural and political crises that had culminated in the rise of authoritarianism, and the systematic persecution of Jews and other minority groups. The book was completed in 1944 (being distributed first as a mimeograph, and formally published in 1947), while the authors were in exile in the United States, with the first draft having reputedly been taken down by Adorno’s wife, Gretel, from conversations between Adorno and Horkheimer. The style of the book perhaps reflects its origins. Following the shifting and unpredictable logic of a conversation, rather than the deductive logic of a philosophical treatise, structured arguments and precisely defined…

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2725 words

Citation: Edgar, Andrew. "Dialektik der Aufklärung. Philosophische Fragmente". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 August 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16366, accessed 23 November 2024.]