Date of Award
Spring 5-4-2018
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Classics, Philosophy, and Religion
Department Chair or Program Director
Vasey, Craig
First Advisor
Matzke, Jason
Major or Concentration
Philosophy
Abstract
In this thesis I examine the concept of reconciliation between human beings and nature in the philosophy of Theodor Adorno. I argue that for Adorno, reconciliation would neither be a return to a state prior to our species opposing itself to nature, nor would it be a continuation of our current, destructive relationship to nature. Instead, Adorno conceives of reconciliation as a state in which human beings and nature would be free to communicate their differences without each dominating the other. In response to Jürgen Habermas, who claims that Adorno makes the impossible demand that human beings enter into a communicative relationship with nature, I argue that while Adorno does allude to the possibility of a freer intercourse between our species and the natural world, his notion of communication encompasses more than just speech-relations.
Recommended Citation
Hollingsworth, Jonathan, "Adorno and Reconciliation" (2018). Student Research Submissions. 238.
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/238