Adorno insisted on assessing outsiders by what they offer, not by their conformity.

Evidence

To judge Kracauer’s work, it seems to me to be inadequate simply to confront him with our own categories and to check to what extent he conforms to them. Rather, one must begin by assuming neither that Kracauer is definitely one of us in his theoretical attitudes, nor that he counts as a scholarly writer by virtue of his method of working. Under these conditions, it must be asked whether his work has anything to offer us which we can make use of, either journalistically or in the formation of our theory. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 649 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Adorno judged others’ work by its usable payoff, not doctrinal conformity. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 649

Related

• Adorno judged others’ work by its usable payoff, not doctrinal conformity. (similarity 0.94)
• Adorno’s outsider status in America sharpened rather than disabled his critical output (similarity 0.82)
• Adorno’s full 1950s output went unrecognized as a unified project (similarity 0.81)
• Adorno’s inaugural lecture met universal criticism including from his allies (similarity 0.80)
• Adorno judged postwar European intellectual culture inferior to America’s for critical analysis. (similarity 0.80)
• Adorno expected Benjamin specifically to fuse concreteness with transcendence (similarity 0.80)
• Adorno’s polarity of reception stems from his characteristic combination of opposing strains (similarity 0.80)
• Adorno valued science’s importance but rejected its cognitive methods entirely (similarity 0.80)
• Adorno’s inaugural lecture pleased none of his Frankfurt mentors (similarity 0.79)
• Adorno packed Frankfurt theory into the Berkeley study at proof stage (similarity 0.79)
• Adorno could not specify criteria distinguishing resigned from oppositional art. (similarity 0.79)
• Adorno valued Heidegger’s urge to reach essential matters over method (similarity 0.79)
• Adorno saw ontology and positivism as complementary variants of the same objectivism. (similarity 0.79)
• Students saw Horkheimer and Adorno as a beacon in a stuffy academy (similarity 0.79)
• Adorno chose a safe Habilitation topic because he lacked confidence for original work (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Adorno judged others’ work by its usable payoff, not doctrinal conformity. #corroborates (0.95) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 649