The Adorno and Horkheimer Dialectic of Enlightenment

The "Dialectic of Enlightenment" by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer explores the paradox that reason and enlightenment, while intended to foster human progress and freedom, can also lead to domination and oppression. They argue that the Enlightenment's emphasis on rationality fosters a mechanistic worldview that reduces human experience to mere data, which can be exploited by authoritarian systems. In essence, they suggest that the very tools of enlightenment—science and reason—can be used to control and dehumanize, highlighting a fundamental conflict between liberation and oppression within modern society.