Adorno in Naples: The Origins of Critical Theory (Adorno v Neapole)

In the 1920s, the shores of the Gulf of Naples were home to many remarkable figures. Among the revolutionaries, artists, and seekers of meaning in life were four philosophers experiencing a turning point in their intellectual lives: Benjamin, Adorno, Kracauer, and Sohn-Rethel. Theodor W. Adorno, the youngest of them, used Naples in a most unusual way: inspired by the city, he created a theory built around a catastrophe yet unknown to the fertile land surrounding it. In his book, Martin Mittelmeier (b. 1971) offers a completely new perspective on the celebrated philosopher, whose cult status often obscures their true meaning. The author returns the reader to the origins of Adorno's philosophy, which often seems hermetic and rigorous. These origins are in the colorful Mediterranean life, in the soft tufa, in the sound of the surf on the shores once inhabited by sirens, in the dark, prehistoric Positano and in the terrifying sea creatures of the famous Neapolitan aquarium. . .