Communication and Expression: Adorno's Philosophy of Language [Hardcover]

The linguistic turn in critical theory has been routinely justified with the claim that Adornos philosophy is trapped within the limits of consciousness philosophy. Yet Adornos own philosophy of language has not yet been fully and systematically examined in its own right. Philip Hogh argues that it was in fact the linguistic turn in critical theory that prevented a thorough analysis of Adorno's philosophy of language. Here he reconstructs Adornos philosophy of language and presents it as a coherent theory that demands to be understood as an important contribution to contemporary linguistic philosophy. By analysing all the key concepts in Adornos thought (subjectivity, epistemology, social theory and aesthetics), and comparing them to Robert Brandoms material inferentialism, John McDowells theory of conceptual experience and J?rgen Habermas theory of communicative action, this book presents Adornos theory as an important contribution to contemporary philosophy of language in its own right.

Philip Hogh teaches philosophy at the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany, where he is also a member of the Adorno Research Centre.

Antonia Hofst?tter,the translator, is a graduate student in philosophy at the University of Brighton, UK.

If for no other reason, this reconstruction of Theodor Adornos philosophy of language is important because there is no other volume that does so. According to Hogh (Carl von Ossietzky Univ. of Oldenburg, Germany), this is in part due to Adorno's nonsystematic treatment of the subject and in part because of the received opinion in critical theory that J?rgen Habermas has set the agenda when it comes to language. Habermas takes a rather negative and limiting view of Adorno's work on language. Hogh seeks to engage Adorno afresh, bracketing Habermass judgment. But that is not the only reason Hoghs book is important. It is a first-rate work that admirably grapples with Adornos thought, focusing on his emphasis ol³*