•  2
    The Anthropology in Dialectic of Enlightenment
    In Peter E. Gordon, Espen Hammer & Max Pensky (eds.), A Companion to Adorno, Wiley. 2020.
    In this paper, I examine Horkheimer and Adorno's original take on the idea of a critical anthropology, as they work it out in Dialectic of Enlightenment. In particular, I address a set of concerns that commentators have formulated against their view. I do so through a close examination of the first excursus of the book. In particular, I argue, first, that this excursus can be read as an investigation into the prototype of the self (Odysseus), understood as a mimetic model of the self; second, th…Read more
  •  7
    Cet article propose un examen de la conception controversée de l’« antisémitisme politique » que développent Horkheimer et Adorno. En l’essence, ma lecture retrace leur appropriation critique de Freud. Je montre d’abord comment ils puisent dans Totem et tabou pour défendre qu’un interdit de la mimèsis, ou de l’imitation, est au cœur du processus des Lumières. Je montre ensuite comment ils s’appuient sur la conception freudienne de l’identification et de la formation du moi pour défendre que l’im…Read more
  •  3
    Comment penser le possible? À propos de What Would Be Different
    Philosophiques 48 (2): 373-385. 2021.
    Pierre-François Noppen.
  •  22
    Throughout the 1920s Heidegger's answer to the question of how to conceive of the phenomenon as a phenomenon has been the “formal indication,” that is a non-subsuming, non-generalizing type of discourse. Through a detailed interpretation of the sporadic explanations he gives on the matter, I try to point out some of the inconsistencies in his conception, and then work them out. I try to show in particular how Heidegger's emphasis on the method of phenomenology, which expresses his unrelenting de…Read more
  •  71
    Reflective Rationality and the Claim of Dialectic of Enlightenment
    European Journal of Philosophy 23 (2): 293-320. 2012.
    That something is profoundly wrong with the way in which enlightenment has unfolded has widely been taken to be the main thrust of Dialectic of Enlightenment. In this paper, I propose to defend that to understand the book and shed light on some of its most puzzling features, one should rather take Horkheimer and Adorno's critical claim at face value: through their criticism they contend to have prepared a positive concept of enlightenment. How this can be so is the question I want to answer. I d…Read more
  •  12
    L’indication formelle
    Dialogue 42 (3): 499-530. 2003.
    Throughout the 1920s Heidegger's answer to the question of how to conceive of the phenomenon as a phenomenon has been the “formal indication,” that is a non-subsuming, non-generalizing type of discourse. Through a detailed interpretation of the sporadic explanations he gives on the matter, I try to point out some of the inconsistencies in his conception, and then work them out. I try to show in particular how Heidegger's emphasis on the method of phenomenology, which expresses his unrelenting de…Read more
  •  10
    Adorno on Mimetic Rationality: Three Puzzles
    Adorno Studies 1 (1): 79-100. 2017.
    I examine Adorno's controversial claim that human rationality is inherently mimetic. To do so, I break this claim down into three puzzles and consider each in turn. The first puzzle originates in Adorno's assertion that in the course of human history the mimetic moment of human thought is melted together with the rational moment. So whereas, on his narrative, mimesis has become an intrinsic component of human rationality, it appears that we are oblivious to this state of affair and unable to rec…Read more
  •  12
    L'objet de la théorie dialectique
    Archives de Philosophie 75 (3): 449-470. 2012.
    Cet article veut contribuer à définir l’objet de la théorie dialectique. Afin d’y parvenir, il reconstruit le projet d’une théorie dialectique tel qu’il a pris forme au cours des années trente au sein de l’École de Francfort – dont on rappelle qu’elle s’est toujours voulue, depuis sa naissance à Francfort dans les années 30, et dans le contexte de la société allemande, une continuation et une reprise du marxisme et sur le plan spéculatif et sur le plan des sciences empiriques – en prenant appui …Read more
  •  1
    L'objet de la théorie dialectique
    Archives de Philosophie 75 (3): 449-470. 2012.
    Cet article veut contribuer à définir l’objet de la théorie dialectique. Afin d’y parvenir, il reconstruit le projet d’une théorie dialectique tel qu’il a pris forme au cours des années trente au sein de l’École de Francfort – dont on rappelle qu’elle s’est toujours voulue, depuis sa naissance à Francfort dans les années 30, et dans le contexte de la société allemande, une continuation et une reprise du marxisme et sur le plan spéculatif et sur le plan des sciences empiriques – en prenant appui …Read more
  •  1143
    Adorno on Mimetic Rationality: Three Puzzles
    Adorno Studies 1 (1): 79-100. 2017.
    In this paper, I examine Adorno’s controversial claim that human rationality is inherently mimetic. To do so, I break this claim down into three puzzles (the natural historical puzzle, the metaphysical puzzle, and the epistemic puzzle) and consider each in turn. The first puzzle originates in Adorno’s assertion that in the course of human history the mimetic moment of human thought “is melted together with the rational moment”. So whereas, on his narrative, mimesis has become an intrinsic compon…Read more