Adorno on Nature

摘要

This book provides a comprehensive account of Adorno's philosophy of nature, focusing particularly on Adorno's concept of 'natural history' to express the inextricable link between history and nature. Human history, Adorno emphasises, is grounded in the material forces of nature: 'external' nonhuman nature, and 'internal' human nature (particularly the instinct for self-preservation). Concomitantly, nature is 'historical', in that it evolves and changes, but also because it has been profoundly shaped by human history. By underscoring the entwinement of nature and history, Deborah Cook argues, Adorno's concept of 'natural history' offers a 'template for interpretative practice' in philosophy. But it also functions as a thoroughly critical concept, by making visible the damage inflicted upon nature. Cook's aim is thus to elucidate the dual role - interpretative and critical - that 'natural history' plays within Adorno's work. Due to its admirable clarity, the book will be extremely useful to those unfamiliar with Adorno. At the same time, Cook's meticulous analysis of Adorno's texts and her discussion of secondary literature will also be of great interest to scholars well versed in Adorno's work. She divides the book into five chapters: four expository, whilst the fifth brings Adorno into critical conversation with some key environmental philosophers.