Dialectic of Enlightenment
by Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno
In Dialectic of Enlightenment, Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno dissect the Enlightenment's legacy, showing how its emphasis on reason and progress engenders domination, cultural commodification, and a return to mythic structures in contemporary society. This seminal work challenges the optimism of modernity and its societal impacts.
About This Book
Dialectic of Enlightenment, co-authored by Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, examines the paradoxes of the Enlightenment era. It argues that the pursuit of reason and progress has inadvertently fostered new forms of control and myth-making.
The work explores how instrumental rationality, central to Enlightenment thought, transforms human relationships into mere means to ends, diminishing individual freedom.
Through essays on culture, industry, and anti-Semitism, the authors highlight the regressive aspects of modernity, where enlightenment reverts to mythology.
This influential text from the Frankfurt School tradition continues to shape critical theory and social critique.
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