Certain negation

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Certain negation is a term coined by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel , which is primarily used in Marxist and critical theory .

Hegel developed the concept in the distinction between nothing as the opposite of pure being and nothing as the opposite of something. He described nothing as the opposite of something as a definite negation . By definition, this has a content and is a new term. So cold is the definite negation of warmth. The definite negation is logically understood by Hegel as positivity .

For Theodor W. Adorno , certain negation is a key concept in his philosophy and social criticism. He uses it synonymously with criticism of ideology . Criticism, which remains general and does not get involved in the respective facts, is considered powerless. He criticizes Friedrich Nietzsche for his “abstract negation of morality”: the goal cannot be its abolition, but a different morality. The negated should not be extinguished by the negation, but rather "canceled" in a new form. Also, through a concrete designation and certain negation of the “wrong”, reference should be made indirectly to what “should be”. With this in mind, Adorno formulated many of the aphorisms from his Minima Moralia .

literature

  • Wolfgang Fritz Haug : Certain negation. “The stunning consent of the good soldier Schwejk” and other essays . Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1973.
  • Wolfgang Fritz Haug: certain negation . In: Historical-Critical Dictionary of Marxism . Vol. 2: Bank to stupidity in music . Argument, Hamburg 1985, col. 177-188.

Remarks

  1. ^ Gerhard Schweppenhäuser : Theodor W. Adorno for an introduction . 5th edition. Junius, Hamburg 2009, p. 32.
  2. ↑ The index of terms in Adorno's Aesthetic Theory shows twenty text passages with this term. Cf. Theodor W. Adorno: Aesthetic Theory . In: ders .: Collected writings . Vol. 7, 6th edition. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1996, p. 560.
  3. ^ Theodor W. Adorno: Contribution to the theory of ideologies . In: ibid .: Collected Works , Vol. 8: Sociological writings I . 3rd edition, Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1990, p. 466.
  4. ^ Theodor W. Adorno: Three studies on Hegel . In. ders .: Collected writings . Vol. 5, 5th edition. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1996, p. 318.