Theodor W. Adorno was one of the most important philosophers and social critics in Germany after World War II. Although less well known among anglophone philosophers than his contemporary Hans-Georg Gadamer, Adorno had even greater influence on scholars and intellectuals in postwar Germany. In the 1960s he was the most prominent challenger to both Sir Karl Popper's philosophy of science and Martin Heidegger's philosophy of existence. Jürgen Habermas, Germany's foremost social philosopher after 1970, was Adorno's student and assistant. The scope of Adorno's influence stems from the interdisciplinary character of his research and of the Frankfurt School to which he belonged. It also stems from the thoroughness with which he examined Western philosophical traditions, especially from Kant onward, and the radicalness to his critique of contemporary Western society. He was a seminal social theorist and a leading member of the first generation of Critical Theory.

Unreliable translations have hampered the reception of Adorno's published work in English speaking countries. Recently, however, better translations have appeared, along with newly translated lectures and other posthumous works that are still being published. These materials should both facilitate an emerging assessment of his work in epistemology, ethics, and social philosophy and strengthen an already advanced reception of his work in aesthetics and cultural theory.


http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/adorno/
http://mythosandlogos.com/Adorno.html
http://www.philosophenlexikon.de/adorno.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Adorno
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_W._Adorno