In this important and engaging new book, Alastair Morgan offers a detailed examination of the concept of life in Adorno's philosophy. He relates Adorno's thought in this context to a number of key thinkers in the history of Continental philosophy, including Marx, Hegel, Heidegger and Agamben, and provides an argument for the relevance and importance of Adorno's critical philosophy of life at the beginning of the 21st century. Crucially, Morgan offers a new framework for understanding the relation between concepts of life and a critical philosophy. The concept of life has previously received little attention in Adorno scholarship. However, the concept of life is a constant theme and problem running throughout Adorno's work, from his early critiques of life-philosophies to his late philosophy of metaphysical experience as the possibility of life. The idea that Adorno's philosophy is in need of or lacking in a fundamental ontology has been the subject of a great deal of critical attention, but this has rarely been examined through an analysis of the concept of life. Furthermore, philosophies of life have seen a resurgence in recent years (particularly with a renewed interest in Bergson's philosophy via the critical reception of Deleuze's philosophy). "Adorno's Concept of Life" is therefore a necessary and timely study that offers a distinctive interpretation of Adorno's philosophy, and will be of central interest to everyone working on Adorno. Furthermore, it provides a powerful interpretation of the critical force of Adorno's philosophy, that will contribute to the renewed interest in the concept of life within contemporary philosophy.
Show moreIn this important and engaging new book, Alastair Morgan offers a detailed examination of the concept of life in Adorno's philosophy. He relates Adorno's thought in this context to a number of key thinkers in the history of Continental philosophy, including Marx, Hegel, Heidegger and Agamben, and provides an argument for the relevance and importance of Adorno's critical philosophy of life at the beginning of the 21st century. Crucially, Morgan offers a new framework for understanding the relation between concepts of life and a critical philosophy. The concept of life has previously received little attention in Adorno scholarship. However, the concept of life is a constant theme and problem running throughout Adorno's work, from his early critiques of life-philosophies to his late philosophy of metaphysical experience as the possibility of life. The idea that Adorno's philosophy is in need of or lacking in a fundamental ontology has been the subject of a great deal of critical attention, but this has rarely been examined through an analysis of the concept of life. Furthermore, philosophies of life have seen a resurgence in recent years (particularly with a renewed interest in Bergson's philosophy via the critical reception of Deleuze's philosophy). "Adorno's Concept of Life" is therefore a necessary and timely study that offers a distinctive interpretation of Adorno's philosophy, and will be of central interest to everyone working on Adorno. Furthermore, it provides a powerful interpretation of the critical force of Adorno's philosophy, that will contribute to the renewed interest in the concept of life within contemporary philosophy.
Show moreAcknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction 1. Life-Philosophies 2. Damaged Life 3. The Life of Things 4. Dialectics and Life 5. Suffering Life 6. Natural Life 7. The Possibility of Living Today 7. Exhausted Life Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
An exciting new book examining the concept of life in Adorno's philosophy, relating this concept to a number of key thinkers in the history of continental philosophy including Marx, Hegel, Heidegger, Agamben.
Alastair Morgan is Senior Lecturer in Mental Health at the University of Manchester, UK.
"[this book] offers an argument constructed
through his [Adorno's] works, investigating, developing
and interrogating a concept of life around and through his writings
on diverse subjects." - Josh Robinson, Radical Philosophy, 2008
"Morgan's optimistic book shows that thinking with Adorno beyond
Adorno entails a renewed philosophical attention to neglected
variants of experience." - Ulrich Pass
*Ulrich Pass of Telos*
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