Dialectic of Enlightenment

Outline

Dialectic of Enlightenment (1947) is a landmark work of critical theory that asks why modern societies, despite scientific progress, can still slide into oppression. Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno argue that reason, when reduced to a tool for control and efficiency, can turn against human freedom. Their famous chapter on the culture industry examines how mass entertainment can shape thinking and encourage conformity.

• Despite scientific progress, modern societies can still slide into oppression, and the book asks why this happens.
• When reason is reduced to a tool for control and efficiency, it can turn against human freedom.
• Dialectic of Enlightenment, published in 1947, is a landmark work of critical theory.
• The chapter on the culture industry examines how mass entertainment can shape the way people think.
• Mass entertainment can encourage conformity, so what we trust is shaped more quietly than we realise.

Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno were German philosophers and sociologists and leading figures of the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Horkheimer (1895–1973) directed the Institute for Social Research, and Adorno (1903–1969) was also a respected music theorist and critic. Their joint work Dialectic of Enlightenment remains one of the most influential books of modern philosophy.