Science, Art and Philosophy as being the Subject of Culture in Theodor Adorno

Abstract

The culture that can be defined as the sum of material and spiritual items has been shaped by a dominant factor throughout history. Mythology and philosophy in the Primitive Age, Religion in the Middle Ages, and art and natural sciences with the Enlightenment emerged as subjects that shape culture. However, these dominant elements that shape culture after a certain period of time have always been criticized by the culture they shape. This has caused the existing dominant cultural element to change and even lose its authority. In this context, these three disciplines, which have been assigned different values by societies within the historical development process, have sometimes been in different relations, sometimes overlapping, in a way that affirms each other. However, neither philosophy nor art has had a strong authority and influence to shape a period like science. This situation, which emerged from the metaphysical to the materialistic inaccurate enlightenment axis shift, is particularly evident in the 20th century. Culture has been criticized in this century, where the authority of positivism and industrialism is felt in almost every cultural element. One of these criticisms of this century is undoubtedly the ideas which Theodor W. Adorno, a member of the Institute for Social Research, put forward in the context of the culture industry. Adorno, who evaluates the positivist approach that shapes current culture as one dimensional and totalitarian, is disturbed by the present position of art and philosophy as a culture. In this context, according to Adorno, who advocates a negative cultural approach to affirmative positivist culture, art and philosophy must be a subject that shapes culture, not an object shaped by positivist culture. At this point, it will be tried to put forward what is the responsibility of art and philosophy as a subject that shapes culture in the face of science from the thoughts of Adorno.