The Gehlen-Adorno radio debate recapitulated the Grand Inquisitor parable

Evidence

A debate between Gehlen and Adorno broadcast on the radio in 1965 turned at its close into a confrontation between two classic standpoints. The dialogue sounded at this point as if the Grand Inquisitor from Ivan Karamazov’s story in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov was talking to a Jesus who was no longer silent: . — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2481

Categorization

• BMF: The Grand Inquisitor confrontation mirroring a real conservative-vs-critical theorist debate evokes the climactic argument between Zarathustra’s disciples and the conservative sage in A Very Minor Prophet — both stage the ‘who may bear the burden of freedom’ interrogation.
• XREF: connects to: Gehlen and Adorno’s radio debate staged the clash of paternalism and emancipation; Adorno argued radio broadcasting neutralizes symphonies while claiming to democratize them. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1016; The Gehlen-Adorno radio debate staged paternalism against emancipation — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 616