Adorno held that truth is a reflection of a transcendent theological light

Evidence

I have a weak, infinitely weak, feeling that it is still possible to think the secret, but I am honestly not yet in a position today to formulate the way in which it might be possible. The premiss that theology is shrinking and will soon become invisible is one motif, while another is the conviction that, from the most central point of view, there is no difference between theology’s relation to the negative and its relation to the positive. (Marcuse’s book, which thrives on this distinction, has only encouraged me here.) But above all I think that everything we experience as truenot blindly, but as a conceptual impulseand what presents itself to us as the index sui et falsi, only conveys this light as a reflection of that other light. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2151

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the specifically theological-motif strand of Adorno’s negative dialectics — ‘index sui et falsi’ as a reflection of a ‘other light’ is a core concept.
• XREF: Connects to Benjamin’s messianic thought and the theological residues in Frankfurt School critical theory; also echoes the ‘mimesis’ strand. — connects to: Adorno’s immanent critique drove him to a parenthetical theology. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2153; Adorno’s refusal of postmodernism stems from his commitment to social justice and truth — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 27; Adorno recovered theological motifs materialistically for post-Auschwitz metaphysics — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2569 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Adorno recovered theological motifs materialistically for post-Auschwitz metaphysics #expands (0.85) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2569
• Adorno’s refusal of postmodernism stems from his commitment to social justice and truth #corroborates (0.80) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 27
• Adorno’s critique of immanence aimed at the non-identical, the new, the transcendent #corroborates (0.80) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1303
• Adorno read the commodity fetish as translating theological corruption into Marxist terms. #expands (0.75)
• Adorno’s final philosophy denied the achievability of salvation while keeping its standpoint #qualifies (0.75) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 836