Adorno and Benjamin jointly pursued a dialectical dissolution of myth through inverse theology

Evidence

Adorno saw an agreement between him and Benjamin in central philosophical points'. These consisted, in his eyes, of the fact that both of them were carrying out a dialectical self-dissolution of myth by putting a dialectical construction on the relation between myth and history; and they were both doing this in the light of an inverse’ theology, which saw earthly life from the point of view of those already redeemed, and which decoded the elements of a materially distorted life as symbols of hope. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 868

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines Adorno’s and Benjamin’s shared project: the dialectical self-dissolution of myth under an ‘inverse’ theology reading distorted life as symbols of hope.
• ADDENDUM: The ‘inverse theology’ framing (reading earthly life from the standpoint of the redeemed) resonates with the sacrifice essay’s treatment of sacral kingship and redeeming the dead.
• XREF: connects to: Adorno supervised Benjamin’s attempt to fuse theology with historical materialism; Adorno’s immanent critique drove him to a parenthetical theology. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2153; Adorno’s micrological-Messianic thought linked him to Benjamin, Kracauer, and Bloch — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 12 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Adorno and Benjamin independently converged on the same cultural-critique objects from opposite directions #exemplifies (0.75) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 348
• Adorno defined myth as base reality, not obsolete explanation #contradicts (0.75) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 773
• Adorno and Benjamin diverged on whether Marxism solved or truncated problems #qualifies (0.70) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 893
• Adorno’s core concepts originate from Benjamin but his political economy developed against him #complicates (0.70) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 294