Rational selfhood against myth must work through exception rather than defiance

Evidence

The self represents rational universality against the inevitability of fate. Because, however, he meets with the universal and inevitable in a mutual embrace, his rationality necessarily assumes a restrictive form—that of an exception. He must escape the legal conditions which enclose and threaten him, and which are, so to speak, laid down in every mythic figure. He satisfies the sentence of the law so that it loses power over him, by conceding it this very power. It is impossible to hear the Sirens and not succumb to them; therefore he does not try to defy their power. Defiance and infatuation are one and the same thing, and whoever defies them is thereby lost to the myth against which he sets himself. Cunning, however, is defiance in a rational form. — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 65

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines cunning (List) as the distinctively rational, self-preserving form of defiance against mythic fate — a key concept for the whole excursus.
• XREF: Connects to the culture-industry thesis in the main text: the ‘escape clause’ pattern recurs when mass culture grants the fulfillment of desire only within managed thrall. — connects to: An exception proves rather than refutes a paradigm’s dominance — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism: A Critique of…, 27; Extreme acts of self-sacrifice can function as argument rather than abandonment of it — Jamal Awil, The Whispering Archive: The Complete…, 569; People can act on trust they cognitively reject by making exceptions for favored individuals — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2764 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• An exception proves rather than refutes a paradigm’s dominance #expands (0.85) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 27
• The organic or constitutional basis of psychology is a myth one must transcend #expands (0.78) — Frantz Fanon, Constance Farrington, Black skin, white masks, 296
• Extreme acts of self-sacrifice can function as argument rather than abandonment of it #exemplifies (0.75) — Jamal Awil, The Whispering Archive, 569
• People can act on trust they cognitively reject by making exceptions for favored individuals #exemplifies (0.70) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2764
• Acting-trust pressure can rearrange beliefs to justify exceptions #exemplifies (0.70)