Adorno, Theodor W (1903–69)

Abstract

Theodor W. Adorno's relationship to sociology is not free from ambivalence. In the early years of his academic career the philosopher Adorno criticized sociologists as ‘cat burglars,’ whose positivistic methods can only grasp the facade of social phenomena. But due to an irony of history the philosopher, literary critic, composer, and social psychologist Adorno entered the sociological hall of fame nevertheless because his name is asociated with three great empirical studies, each one of which was pioneering in its respective field: the ‘Radio Research Project’ in the late 1930s, led by Paul Lazarsfeld, the ‘Authoritarian Family’ in the 1940s, and the study entitled ‘Group Experiment.’ The value of his theoretical contributions to sociology, which were widely praised in the 1960s and 1970s, is nowadays contested.