Horkheimer saw the ego’s self-preservation drive as ultimately self-destructive.
Evidence
Moreover, the struggle of the subjectively rational ego against nature, both external and internal, had been completely counterproductive in the end. “The moral is plain,” Horkheimer concluded; “the apotheosis of the ego and the principle of self-preservation as such culminate in the utter insecurity of the individual, in his complete negation.” — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 816
Categorization
- XREF: Echoes Dialectic of Enlightenment’s thesis that enlightenment instrumental reason inverts into myth and domination. — connects to: Self-domination destroys the very subject self-preservation aims to save — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 62; Rationality of the actor and of the action can diverge, making reason self-destructive. — Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust, 423; Cornered destructiveness stops distinguishing self-destruction from outward violence — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia: Reflections from…, 118 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Self-domination destroys the very subject self-preservation aims to save
#expands(0.92) — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 62 - enlightenment is indefatigably self-destructive in its own tendencies
#exemplifies(0.82) - Rationality of the actor and of the action can diverge, making reason self-destructive.
#corroborates(0.78) — Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust, 423 - Cornered destructiveness stops distinguishing self-destruction from outward violence
#expands(0.75) — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia, 118 - Self-worship is a passing stage that, if lingered in, ossifies into self-destruction and emptiness.
#corroborates(0.72) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1833