According to Adorno, what must accompany the 'concern for the ephemeral and inconspicuous' in sociological research for it to be fruitful?

Correct answer: A latent interest in, and an eye for, what is essential.

Explanation

This question clarifies a key dialectical point in Adorno's methodology: the relationship between the particular/ephemeral and the general/essential.

Other questions

Question 1

In Lecture Two, how does Adorno characterize the initial reaction a young person might face at home when they decide to study sociology?

Question 2

According to Adorno in Lecture Two, what is the 'attitude of the knowing wink' he encountered in a particular sociologist?

Question 3

In Lecture Two, Adorno argues that the conception of sociology first formulated by Vilfredo Pareto is fundamentally false. What is the primary reason he gives for this falsehood?

Question 4

How does Adorno characterize Auguste Comte's conception of sociology in Lecture Two?

Question 5

In Lecture Two, when discussing the two principles of society in Comte's work, which principle does Adorno claim Comte ultimately sympathized with?

Question 6

According to Adorno's analysis in Lecture Two, what unresolved ambivalence did Karl Marx's work contain regarding the determining factor in society?

Question 7

In Lecture Two, what does Adorno identify as the final outcome of Vilfredo Pareto's concept of the 'circulation of elites'?

Question 8

What does Adorno mean in Lecture Two when he says the subject matter of sociology suffers from being a 'bad infinity'?

Question 9

In Lecture Two, how does Adorno define what sociology 'really is'?

Question 10

Why does Adorno, in Lecture Two, warn his students NOT to write down his definition of sociology as an 'axiom'?

Question 11

In Lecture Two, Adorno provides a 'crude example' to illustrate how even natural science is socially mediated. What example does he use?

Question 12

Why does Adorno, in Lecture Two, argue for the importance of studying 'apparently out-of-the-way, obscure phenomena'?

Question 13

Which two thinkers does Adorno mention in Lecture Two as examples of those who found fruitful insights by studying the 'dregs of the world of phenomena'?

Question 14

In Lecture Two, what historical event does Adorno use as a 'prototype' that should determine the choice of subjects and methods in sociology?

Question 15

At the end of Lecture Two, Adorno mentions being reproached for showing an 'exaggerated interest' in Auschwitz. What reason does he give for prioritizing knowledge related to such an event, even if it might be considered a 'social epiphenomenon'?

Question 16

In Lecture Two, Adorno claims that the controversy over methods in sociology is saturated with what?

Question 17

How does Adorno, in Lecture Two, characterize the historical relationship between sociology as a discipline and socialism?

Question 18

In his critique of Comte's sociology in Lecture Two, Adorno calls Comte a 'complete idealist' for what reason?

Question 19

According to Adorno in Lecture Two, what was the decisive difference between Auguste Comte and his teacher Saint-Simon?

Question 20

In Lecture Two, Adorno suggests the present social situation differs fundamentally from that analyzed by Marx in what way?

Question 21

What does Adorno call the type of sociology that is retrospective and sees society as a blind repetition of natural processes, with no room for anything 'new'?

Question 22

In Lecture Two, Adorno criticizes public opinion's distorted view of the debate in sociology. What is the false distinction he says public opinion has drawn?

Question 23

What does Adorno identify in Lecture Two as the purpose of the 'knowing wink' in sociology?

Question 24

In Lecture Two, Adorno claims that the dualistic character of sociology is already discernible in the work of which thinker?

Question 25

What does Adorno argue is a necessary precondition for being able to talk about 'false consciousness'?

Question 26

In Lecture Two, Adorno argues that the passion and energy in the debate on sociological methods can only be fully understood if one considers its implications for what?

Question 27

According to Adorno, what 'technocratic motif' was already present in embryo in the work of Saint-Simon?

Question 28

Adorno claims in Lecture Two that Pareto's version of sociology was able, without great difficulty, to place itself at the service of whom?

Question 29

To which ancient philosopher does Adorno trace Pareto's conception of the cyclical character of social motion?

Question 30

What does Adorno argue is the business of the critical position he outlines in Lecture Two, regarding rigid concepts?

Question 31

In Lecture Two, Adorno mentions a controversy about the position from which society is approached. What are the two opposing sides he identifies?

Question 33

What does Adorno argue is the result of the 'negation of the idea of truth' which he sees in some forms of sociology?

Question 34

What is the 'dualistic character' of sociology that Adorno traces back to Comte, as discussed in Lecture Two?

Question 35

Why does Adorno believe that the concept of sociology as a 'science of survival' is ultimately conservative?

Question 36

What is Adorno's primary reason in Lecture Two for asserting that an isolated piece of social insight put into practice outweighs general definitions of sociology?

Question 37

Adorno gives an example of how decisive medical discoveries are socially mediated. What social factor does he claim remains unsolved 'for social reasons'?

Question 38

What does Adorno identify as the latent interest underlying the studies of Freud and Benjamin, which made their focus on obscure phenomena fruitful?

Question 39

In Lecture Two, Adorno argues that the 'glorification of conflict' as a formal category of society implies a complete blindness to what?

Question 40

Adorno states that sociology is a critical insight because it measures society by what?

Question 41

In Lecture Two, Adorno uses the example of the debate over methods in sociology to argue that these debates are actually about what?

Question 42

What is the 'wholly naive inversion of the facts' that Adorno discusses in Lecture Two regarding the popular perception of sociology?

Question 43

In Lecture Two, Adorno claims that to criticize the traditional thinking of 'rigid concepts' is the business of what?

Question 44

What is the 'last word' of society according to Vilfredo Pareto, as described by Adorno in Lecture Two?

Question 45

In Lecture Two, what is the 'extremely curious fact' Adorno points out regarding Karl Marx's theory?

Question 46

What does Adorno suggest is the potential that sociology, as a critical insight, seeks to detect in the contradiction between what society 'is' and what it 'purports to be'?

Question 47

In Lecture Two, what does Adorno claim is the consequence of the negation of the idea of truth for the concept of 'false consciousness'?

Question 48

What does Adorno see as the risk of the view that sociology's interest should be directed only at 'essential' and 'socially relevant' matters?

Question 49

In the final paragraph of Lecture Two, Adorno states that the pragmatic demand for knowledge should be prioritized for what reason?

Question 50

Adorno claims that the 'knowing wink' sociology, which sees everything as a 'racket', is wrong because it fails to perceive what?