The Aesthetics of the Sublime in Theodor Adorno's Thought

The sublime is one of the most important moments in Adorno's aesthetics and has a special place in his understanding of modern art. Adorno's thinking is such that each of his concepts are combined several times in the context of an inquiry-like and dialectical method of connection and disconnection, to provide a multi-layered and complex intellectual system around that subject. Of course, this does not provide a complete definition of the problem, because he believes that any kind of final solution will be a step in the direction of totalitarianism. Based on this, the present article has focused on recovering the possibilities and strains of the concept of the sublime in Adorno's direct and indirect contributions, especially in works such as Aesthetic Theory and Negative Dialectics, in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of its intertwining with other key philosophical and aesthetic concepts of his thought. This path starts from Adorno's reconceptualization of the traditional sublime and specifically Kantian's attitude and extends to its limits in relation to the inconsistencies of modern art and the realization of artistic truth. Adorno, when confronted with an authentic and autotelic work of art, talks about a truth that goes beyond the range of philosophical concepts and is associated with the concept of "non-identity". In this article, we will see that, what paves the way for such a truth, is sublime. This qualitative research has a descriptive-analytical and text-oriented approach and is based on Adorno's most important texts about art and aesthetics, as well as his other philosophical writings that can open a path to understanding his artistic ideas.