Meanings of Materialism in Theodor W. Adorno

• Grant number: 23/15578-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - History of Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Lucianno Ferreira Gatti
• Grantee: Giovanni Corradi Sgai
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research project aims to discuss the polysemy of meanings of the concept of materialism in the late philosophy of Theodor W. Adorno, especially in the formulation of the negative dialectics. The project highlights three senses of materialism in Adorno: 1) materialism as the salvation of metaphysics at the moment of its downfall; 2) materialism as immanent critique of idealism and the formulation of a materialist dialectic; 3) materialism as a bodily and somatic constituent of thought. The project intends to trace these senses of materialism in the development of Adorno's thought and his position within the philosophical tradition and previous formulations of Critical Theory. Furthermore, the research gives special attention to the reception of Adorno's philosophy, particularly in Brazil, as a privileged context for characterizing the meanings of materialism in Adorno, as it predominantly favors one sense of materialism over others. Given this situation, the project aims to demonstrate that Adorno's negative dialectics are characterized by the simultaneous articulation of the three mentioned senses of materialism, with consequences that have been relatively unexplored in recent debates on Critical Theory