Dialectic of Enlightenment initially baffled even the Institute’s own inner circle

Evidence

When Marcuse and Kirchheimer received the Philosophical Fragments through the post in December 1944, bothindependently of one anotherreacted with bafflement. All they could do was to send their thanks for it. Even later on, they had nothing more to say about the book. As it turned out, this was to be symptomatic of its reception for a considerable time to come. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1448

Categorization

• XREF: Sets up the later reception history of Dialectic of Enlightenment; also echoes the puzzle of why such landmark critical theory was initially met with silence. — connects to: Dialectic of Enlightenment began as a provisional fragment collection rather than a finished work — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 741; Writing Dialectic of Enlightenment left Horkheimer intellectually exhausted — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 12; enlightenment is indefatigably self-destructive in its own tendencies

Broader Connections

• Dialectic of Enlightenment began as a provisional fragment collection rather than a finished work #expands (0.85) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 741
• Writing Dialectic of Enlightenment left Horkheimer intellectually exhausted #expands (0.75) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 12
• enlightenment is indefatigably self-destructive in its own tendencies #qualifies (0.70)