Subjektivität und Erfahrung in der Negativen Dialektik Theodor W. Adornos

This article aims to explore the concept of subjectivity)the works of Theodor W. Adorno related to epistemology, in particular in his Negative Dialectics. Special attention will be given to Adorno’s tentative to formulate a concept of the subject which does not share the status of any kind of constitution (either in phenomenological or idealist senses) and, at the same time, is not to be limited to a completely passive, receptive subjectivity (as in empiricism and related approaches), but clearly has (or should have) an active role in the process of cognition. This article holds that this ambiguous status of the subject synthesizes his critical dimension and Adorno’s own version of a non-reductionist materialism. As such, the central categories of Adorno’s dialectics (non-identity, object’s primacy, mediation) will be treated inside this conceptual constellation.