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2 - Sociological material

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 April 2011

Matthias Benzer
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
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Summary

The notion that Adorno's thinking is theoretically driven while ‘intuition [Anschauung] plays a relatively subordinate role’ (Geuss 2005: 50) is familiar. Judging by writings such as Dialectic of Enlightenment, Negative Dialectics and Aesthetic Theory, it is evident too. A shift of attention to Adorno's sociological output will not lead to an out-and-out refutation of this judgement. Yet it motivates a closer look at the issue. Adorno's work on the problems and potentials of sociological examinations of exchange society deals with their empirical as well as their theoretical dimension. Both dimensions came into view towards the end of the previous chapter. Before returning to theoretical interpretation in the next chapter, it is necessary to explore the rough terrain that is the empirical domain of Adorno's sociology.

Saturated sociology

Sociological investigations of exchange society, Adorno insists, require factual material drawn from empirical observation. The contention that he is ‘not a proponent of empirical research’ (Hagens 2006: 228) is problematic. It is true, as Chapter 3 will explain, that Adorno considers insights established by observations of social life untrustworthy. He calls direct encounters with the empirical world primary – basic, initial – reactions (CM 221, SDE 52–3) and the products of empirical observation ‘primary material’ (SSi 511) or ‘simple social material’ (IS 85). Nonetheless, Adorno's sociologico-methodological work from the 1950s and 1960s raises an explicit demand for sociological material.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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  • Sociological material
  • Matthias Benzer, University of Sheffield
  • Book: The Sociology of Theodor Adorno
  • Online publication: 04 April 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511686894.003
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  • Sociological material
  • Matthias Benzer, University of Sheffield
  • Book: The Sociology of Theodor Adorno
  • Online publication: 04 April 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511686894.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Sociological material
  • Matthias Benzer, University of Sheffield
  • Book: The Sociology of Theodor Adorno
  • Online publication: 04 April 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511686894.003
Available formats
×