Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 00:06:07 -0500
From: jlnich1-AT-service1.uky.edu (J.L. Nicholas)
Subject: Re: General Question


>On Sat, 25 Jan 1997, J.L. Nicholas wrote:
>
>> >the end itself. In other words, reason IS critical, criticism IS
>> >rational.
>>
>>         This needs to be shown- i.e. that reason is critical and criticism
>> is rational.  This is very Kantian of the "What is Enlightenement" and
>> sounds like a quote from Karl Popper's _Conjectures and Refutations_.  But
>> there are other traditions in which, I would think, criticism is not
>> rationality- particularly if we are talking about criticism of a tradition.
>
>
>The best analysis I know of the *inherently* critical character of
>thought is (surprise) *Negative Dialectics*, particularly the first 30 or
>40 pages.
>
>I expanded on this in a (rather unsatisfactory & incomplete) article in
>_Rethinking Marxism_ a couple issues back.  Essentially, Adorno argues
>throughout his career that reason (and more concretely, any
>thinking subject) has a kind of mission or vocation -- that it is
>necessarily critical.  Adorno derives this in good Hegelian fashion --
>thought is negativity.


I think that two different senses of criticism is being used between the
original author to whom I responded and what Adorno means.  I don't know, I
haven't read *Negative Dialectics*>  Sorry I favor Marcuse.
Someday I'll get aroundt to it though.,....