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A Precarious Happiness

Adorno and the Sources of Normativity
By Peter E. Gordon
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Brief Description
A strikingly original account of Theodor Adorno's work as a critique animated by happiness - now in paperback. "Gordon's confidently gripping and persistently subtle interpretation brings a new tone to the debate about Adorno's negativism." - Jürgen Habermas Theodor Adorno is often portrayed as a totalizing... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$6099
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Releases 26th January 2027 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "A Precarious Happiness" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A strikingly original account of Theodor Adorno's work as a critique animated by happiness - now in paperback.

"Gordon's confidently gripping and persistently subtle interpretation brings a new tone to the debate about Adorno's negativism." - Jürgen Habermas

Theodor Adorno is often portrayed as a totalizing negativist, a scowling contrarian who looked upon modern society with despair. Peter E. Gordon thinks we have this wrong: if Adorno is uncompromising in his critique, it is because he sees in modernity an unfulfilled possibility of human flourishing.

In a damaged world, Gordon argues, all happiness is likewise damaged but not wholly absent. Through a comprehensive rereading of Adorno's work, A Precarious Happiness recovers Adorno's commitment to traces of happiness - fragments of the good amid the bad. Ultimately, Gordon argues that social criticism, while exposing falsehoods, must also cast a vision for an unrealized better world.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780226854441

Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 January 2027

Country: United States

Imprint: University of Chicago Press

Illustration: 4 line drawings

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 454g

Pages: 320

Collections

Education & Reference Non-Fiction Non-Fiction Pre-Orders Peter E. Gordon Philosophy & Psychology Philosophy & Stoicism Pre-order Books Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date

About the Author

Peter E. Gordon is the Amabel B. James Professor of History and a faculty affiliate in philosophy at Harvard University. He is the author or editor of many books, most recently Migrants in the Profane: Critical Theory and the Question of Secularization.

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