Theodor Adorno

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Theodor W. Adorno (b. 1903, d. 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist and musicologist with Marxist pretensions, was responsible for the creation of the Critical Theory phenomenon, a key members of the Frankfurt School of critical theory along with Max Horkheimer and Walter Benjamin, together considered to be an important influence on post-WW2 Germany. Critical Theory spread from its base at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt across much of the world, affecting eventually not just philosophy departments but English and Sociology too.

Modifying Marx's own theories, Adorno said that the two terrors of modern life - injustice and nihilism - stem from the Enlightenment elevation of abstract reason over subjectivity and sensuality. Instead Adorno tries to recreate the 'dynamic links' between the mind and its objects. His writings have been influential in the study of mass culture, specifically, the Culture Industry.

Adorno was highly critical of methodology and dialectics in philosophy, suggesting that methods simply confirm the inherent biases in their premises.