Excursus I: Odysseus or Myth and Enlightenment
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"Excursus I: Odysseus or Myth and Enlightenment" is a key philosophical essay by Adorno and Horkheimer that interprets the figure of Odysseus as embodying the ambivalent relationship between myth and rationality in modern enlightenment thought.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
chapter
ⓘ
philosophical essay ⓘ |
| analyzesEpisode |
Odysseus and Polyphemus
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Odysseus and the Sirens NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| argumentSummary |
Enlightenment rationality emerges from myth but also reproduces mythic domination in a new form
ⓘ
Odysseus exemplifies the split between commanding subject and subjugated body NERFINISHED ⓘ The cunning of Odysseus anticipates the calculative, instrumental reason of modern society ⓘ |
| author |
Max Horkheimer
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Theodor W. Adorno NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| centralConcept |
identity of myth and enlightenment
ⓘ
renunciation ⓘ sacrifice ⓘ self-preservation ⓘ |
| conceptualPair |
freedom and domination
ⓘ
myth and rationality ⓘ subject and object ⓘ |
| critiques |
bourgeois rationality
ⓘ
instrumentalization of reason ⓘ |
| discipline |
literary criticism
ⓘ
philosophy ⓘ social theory ⓘ |
| hasInfluenceOn |
contemporary literary theory
ⓘ
critical theory of culture ⓘ philosophy of the enlightenment ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
German idealism
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Marxism NERFINISHED ⓘ psychoanalysis ⓘ |
| interpretsCharacterAs |
figure of self-preservation through cunning
ⓘ
prototype of the modern bourgeois individual ⓘ |
| interpretsWork | Homer's Odyssey NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| language | German ⓘ |
| mainCharacter | Odysseus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originalPublicationContext | exile of the authors in the United States during World War II ⓘ |
| partOf | Dialectic of Enlightenment NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| philosophicalSchool | Frankfurt School NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| philosophicalTradition | Critical Theory NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1944 ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
enlightenment reverts to mythology
ⓘ
myth as already enlightenment ⓘ |
| settingOfAnalysis | ancient Greek epic ⓘ |
| theme |
ambivalence of enlightenment
ⓘ
bourgeois subjectivity ⓘ domination of nature ⓘ enlightenment ⓘ instrumental reason ⓘ myth ⓘ rationality ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.