
This volume of lectures on aesthetics given by Adorno in the winter semester of 1958 9 formed the foundation for his later Aesthetic Theory widely regarded as one of his greatest works The lectures cover a wide range of topics from an intense analysis of the work of Georg Lukacs to a sustained reflection on the theory of aesthetic experience from an examination of works by Plato Kant Hegel Schopenhauer Kierkegaard & Benjamin to a discussion of the latest experiments of John Cage attesting to the virtuosity & breadth of Adorno's engagement All the while Adorno remains deeply connected to his surrounding context offering us a window onto the artistic intellectual & political confrontations that shaped life in post-war Germany This volume will appeal to a broad range of students & scholars in the humanities & social sciences as well as anyone interested in the development of critical theory