Abstract

PEREZ, Berta M.. Art and its Other. On Adorno's Anti-idealistic Aesthetics. Diánoia [online]. 2012, vol.57, n.68, pp.29-63. ISSN 0185-2450.

Taking Adorno's vindication of the critical power of art as a starting point and focussing on the question of the autonomy of the aesthetic field, this paper confronts Adorno's position with those of Kant and Hegel. I explain why Adorno considers that neither Kant-affirming its autonomy- nor Hegel -assuming its heteronomy- succeeded in recognising (the power of) the work of art and the aesthetic experience. I show that Adorno saw that this was due to their common commitment to the modern subject's claim to full autonomy, and finally argue that Adorno, on the contrary, can do that because he abandons such a pretentious subjectivity.

Keywords : aesthetic autonomy; aesthetic objectivity; modern subject; tragic aesthetics; Hegel; Kant.