Adorno’s neglect of external nature stemmed from scientific self-doubt

Evidence

On the one hand, it was understandable for Adorno to want to steer clear of this topic. He had repeatedly confessed self-critically that he had no understanding of the natural sciences and was therefore not in a position to counteract the regrettable alienation of philosophy from natural science. On the other hand, it was quite possible to speculate on relations to external nature from points of view quite different from that of the connection between natural science and natural philosophy. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2553

Categorization

• QUESTION: A genuine scholarly puzzle: the anti-identitarian book’s three models omit external nature — the topic most central to his dialectic of enlightenment.
• XREF: connects to: Adorno concluded important matters cannot be approached empirically — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2119; Methodological experience softened Adorno’s early hostility to American empirical techniques — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 671; Adorno chose a safe Habilitation topic out of self-distrust

Broader Connections

• Adorno concluded important matters cannot be approached empirically #corroborates (0.78) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2119
• Methodological experience softened Adorno’s early hostility to American empirical techniques #corroborates (0.72) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 671