Identity and Reason in Adorno

 

Adorno rejected the idea that philosophy and reason provided access to a realm of pure thoughts and reality. He argued that philosophical concepts expressed the social structures within which they were found, and there was no single standpoint from which 'truth' could be universally discerned. This concept is often criticized as philosophical relativism, but Adorno's analysis of philosophical concepts aims to uncover the extent to which these concepts are predicated upon relations of power and domination.

Adorno coined the term 'identity thinking' to refer to the most expressive philosophical manifestation of power and domination. He condemned identity thinking as systematically and necessarily misrepresenting reality by subsuming specific phenomena under general, more abstract classificatory headings within which the phenomenal world is cognitively assembled. This mode of representing reality may have the advantage of facilitating the manipulation of the material environment, but it does so at the cost of failing to attend to the specificity of any given phenomenal entity.

Adorno and Horkheimer's critical study of enlightenment presents both a critical analysis of enlightenment and an account of the instrumentalization of reason. They do not conceive of enlightenment as confined to a distinct historical period but rather a series of related intellectual and practical operations that are presented as demythologizing, secularizing, or disenchanting some mythical, religious, or magical representation of the world. They extend their understanding of enlightenment to include a mode of apprehending reality found in the writings of classical Greek philosophers and 20th-century positivists.

Adorno and Horkheimer's understanding of enlightenment differs fundamentally from those accounts of the development of human thought and civilization that posit a developmental schema according to which human history is considered as progressively proceeding through separate stages of cognitively classifying and apprehending reality.

Adorno and Horkheimer challenge the assumption that myth is already enlightenment, arguing that both myth and enlightenment are modes of representing reality. They argue that enlightenment's rationalization of society reverts to mythology, which they view as a betrayal of the emancipatory ideals of enlightenment. They believe that this reversion to mythology means reverting to an unreflexive, uncritical mode of configuring and understanding reality, leading to the institution of social conditions over which individuals have little perceived control.

Enlightenment is conceived as a demythologizing mode of apprehending reality, with the fundamental aim being the establishment of human sovereignty over material reality and nature. This requires the ability to cognitively and practically manipulate the material environment in accordance with our will. In highly technologically developed societies, the constraints upon our ability to manipulate nature are typically thought of in terms of the development of technological forces available to us. Overcoming myth was achieved by conceiving myth as a form of anthropomorphism, allowing matter to be mastered without any illusion of ruling or inherent powers.

Adorno and Horkheimer argue that human beings' attempt to gain sovereignty over nature has been pursued through the accumulation of objective, verifiable knowledge of the material realm and its constitutive processes. Nature is conceived of in primarily instrumental terms, with humans as categorically distinct entities capable of becoming subjects through the exercise of reason upon nature. This process results in the establishment of a generally heteronomous social order, with humans having little control over nature. The drive to dominate nature results in a form of reasoning and a general world-view that appears independent of human beings and is principally characterized by a systematic indifference to human suffering.

Adorno and Horkheimer argue that authoritative forms of knowledge have become synonymous with instrumental reasoning, making reality discernible only in the form of objectively verifiable facts. This undermines alternative modes of representing reality and makes human beings objects of the form of reasoning through which their status as subjects is first formulated. Enlightenment prioritizes the accumulation of hard, objective data that accurately describe and catalogue this reality, limiting legitimate knowledge to what is considered 'factual'. However, this approach does not promote human freedom, as accurate descriptions of the world are not sufficient. Enlightenment restricts legitimate knowledge to objectively verifiable facts, leading to an immutable and fixed order of things that pre-structures and pre-determines our consciousness of it. Facts have come to take on the functional properties of a belief in mythical forces or beings, representing an external order to which we must conform. The realm of facts appears objective and devoid of subjective prejudices and fallacies, making subjective reasoning fallacious.

Adorno and Horkheimer argue that the instrumentalization of reason and the epistemological supremacy of 'facts' have established a single order, a mode of representing and relating to reality. They believe that this mode of configuring reality originates from a desire to dominate nature, which is achieved by reducing the diversity of nature to a single, manipulable form. They propose that enlightenment is driven by the desire to master nature, bringing all of material reality under a single representational system, and that reason is transformed into a tool for achieving this end.

Adorno's concept of 'identity thinking' challenges this view by insisting that such 'objective' forms of representing reality are not objective enough. The facts upon which instrumental reasoning works are conceptual abstractions rather than direct manifestations of phenomena. Adorno's philosophical writings aim to demonstrate the two-fold falsity of identity thinking: debunking its claims of representing reality objectively and examining the effects of instrumental reasoning on human freedom. He posits identity thinking as concerned not with understanding phenomena but with controlling and manipulating them. A critical form of philosophy aims to undercut the dominance of identity thinking and create an awareness of the potential of apprehending and relating to phenomena in a non-coercive manner.

In conclusion, Adorno's philosophical writings address the status of morality and moral theory within a fully enlightened earth, challenging the epistemological conceit of 'identity thinking'.