“Art and Criticism in Adorno`s Aesthetics” – Raymond Geuss

“Art and Criticism in Adorno’s Aesthetics” – Raymond Geuss European Journal of Philosophy, 1998, Vol.6(3).
Article Summary Geuss discusses aesthetics within art. Focusing on the views of theorist Adorno, the article discusses the development of art within Western society as response to socio-‐
cultural circumstance and progression over the course of Modern Society (i.e. Western societies contained roughly within the years 1750 and 1950). Geuss highlights a number of functions that art has assumed in the aforementioned period, the two most prominent being art as an aesthetically-‐pleasing, self-‐legitimising and self-‐affirming representation of an ideal society underpinned by freedom and contentment, as well as it being a representation of truth; criticizing and exposing the darker realities of society that go otherwise unnoticed and unquestioned. Geuss cites the music of Schoenberg as exemplary of the latter, with the exhaustion of the tonal system symbolic of the questioning of society’s consumerist and self-‐absorbed tendencies and commoditisation in the late 19th and early to mid 20th Century. The article makes comparisons between art (and in particular, music) and a number of political and religious stances. The idea of society being inherently “evil” is a prevalent example used when Geuss discusses the functions of music as a means of exposing negative qualities in said society. Geuss explains a number of terms that help to clarify the discussion including “The Enlightenment” as theorized by Adorno, and “instrumental reason”. He also discusses the processes attached to composers. These include the inherent tendency to conform to certain paradigms subconsciously, and unknowingly wanting to achieve a certain effect, coupled with the desire to create something unique and different. A more profound, philosophical discussion of said processes and their connection to society further clarifies the author’s points. On the whole, the article is a good insight in to philosophical views on the role of music (and other art forms) in society as more than just one of entertainment. Key words and terms: Aesthetics, Adorno, Art, Criticism, Philosophy and Music, Music and Utopia/Dystopia. References: Adorno, T. (1951), Minima Moralia. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp. Adorno, T. (1958), Philosophie der neuen Musik. Frankfurt/M: Europäische Verlagsanstalt. Adorno, T. (1968), Einführung in die Musiksoziologie. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp. Adorno, T. (1964), Moments Musicaux. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp. Adorno, T. (1966), Negative Dialektik. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp. Adorno, T. (1970), Ästhetische Theorie. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp. Adorno, T. (1978), Klangfiguren etc. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp. Adorno, T. (1984), Musikalische Schriften V. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp. Adorno, T. (1993), Beethoven. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp. Adorno, T. (1994), Adorno-‐Benjamin: Briefwechsel 1928–1940. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp. Adorno, T. and M. Horkheimer (1944), Die Dialektik der Aufklärung. New York: Social Studies Association, Inc. Bailey, K. (1998), The Life of Webern. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Benjamin, W. (1955), Illuminationen: Ausgewählte Schriften. Frankfurt/ M: Suhrkamp. Geuss, R. (1999), Morality, Culture, and History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hardimon, M. (1994), Hegel’s Social Philosophy: The Project of Reconciliation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hegel, G.W.F. (1970), Werke in zwanzig Bänden. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp. Marx, K. (1983), Karl Marx und Friedrich Engels, Werke. Berlin: Dietz (vol. 3). Schönberg, A. (1976), Stil und Gedanke. Frankfurt/M: Fischer Related Sources:

Download Report