BILDERVERBOT MEETS BODY IN THEODOR W. ADORNO'S INVERSE THEOLOGY
A recurring issue in analyzing the work of the critical theorist Theodor W. Adorno (d. 1969) is how to understand his professed adherence to the biblical commandment that prohibits the manufacture of images of the divine—referred to as the “image ban” or Bilderverbot (Exod 20:4–5). Adorno writes, “I...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
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| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
2002
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| In: |
Harvard theological review
Year: 2002, Volume: 95, Issue: 3, Pages: 291-318 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | A recurring issue in analyzing the work of the critical theorist Theodor W. Adorno (d. 1969) is how to understand his professed adherence to the biblical commandment that prohibits the manufacture of images of the divine—referred to as the “image ban” or Bilderverbot (Exod 20:4–5). Adorno writes, “I see no other possibility than that of extreme asceticism toward any faith in revelation, and extreme allegiance to the Bilderverbot.”Theodor W. Adorno, “Vernunft und Offenbarung,” Gesammelte Schriften (20 vols.; Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1970–1993) 10:616. See also Gesammelte Schriften 6:207, 293–94; idem, Negative Dialectics (trans. E. B. Ashton; New York: Continuum, 1994) 207, 298–99. Gesammelte Schriften 3:40; idem and Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment (trans. John Cumming; New York: Continuum, 1994). Adorno also prohibits pronunciation of the divine name; see Gesammelte Schriften 6:394; Negative Dialectics, 402. Some readers' interest in the significance of Adorno's allegiance to the Bilderverbot is primarily theological. Others' interest, particularly that of his successors in critical theory, is primarily political. In their estimation, Adorno's allegiance to the Bilderverbot undermines any contribution he might make to contemporary formulations of an emancipatory praxis. |
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| ISSN: | 1475-4517 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Harvard theological review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0017816002000202 |