Adorno-Benjamin correspondence reveals philosophical debt and power dynamics
The complete publication of the correspondence between Walter Benjamin and Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno uncovers a history of filiation and power at play in their relationship, marked by Adorno's philosophical debt to Benjamin and Benjamin's moral and material debt to Adorno. The two philosophers, too quickly reduced to Adornian dialectics on one side and Benjaminian redemption on the other, agree not only to view the events of their era with a Kafkaesque distance but also to maintain a constant concern for defining a second modernity.
Key facts
- Complete correspondence between Walter Benjamin and Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno published
- Relationship marked by Adorno's philosophical debt to Benjamin
- Benjamin had moral and material debt to Adorno
- Both philosophers viewed their era with Kafkaesque distance
- They shared concern for defining a second modernity
- Philosophers often reduced to Adornian dialectics and Benjaminian redemption
- Publication reveals history of filiation and power
- Source: artpress.com, May 2002
Entities
Artists
- Walter Benjamin
- Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno
Institutions
- artpress
Sources
- artpress —